


They're Not To Know

by fringeperson



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Crossdressing, Don't copy to another site, Family Secrets, Multi, Okama EVERYWHERE, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:56:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 55,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27585757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fringeperson/pseuds/fringeperson
Summary: Someone in the Host Club has a secret. Hardly surprising really, but the who and the what might surprise you... Either way, it's the Ouran High School's Host Club, which means it's going to be an interesting ride. Wasn't there a Chinese curse about that?~Originally posted in '13
Relationships: Fujioka Haruhi/Morinozuka Takashi, Ootori Kyouya/Suoh Tamaki
Comments: 7
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1

Ouran Private Academy is defined by one: prestigious families; and two: wealth – and prosperous people have much time on their hands. The Ouran Host Club was about handsome guys that had time giving hospitality to lovely ladies that _also_ had time, and making profit off them. They made _no_ secret of any of this. It was an elegant game, and unique to the super-rich school.

'Mori-sempai' held about the only secret in the club.

Her name was Morinozuka Taka, and her parents had wanted a boy. The whole clan, in fact, had wanted – and been _expecting_ – a boy. An eldest son to carry on the family name... and duties. Not long before her own birth, Haninozuka Mitsukuni had been born. The heir to the family which _her_ family had been loyal vassals to for generations... until a (somewhat scandalous) marriage between the two families had elevated the Morinozuka family.

As soon as she and her cousin Mitsukuni were old enough to understand, she had been told (maybe a little forcibly) that  _no such thing_ would be happening between the two of  _them_ , and to make sure... to make sure, Taka was given boys clothes and called Takashi by her family. Her black hair was kept cut short. She was ordered into the dojo with her father and given the training that a  _son_ of the family would receive, rather than a daughter. When she attended school at the age of five, she was put into the green uniform that her cousin Mitsukuni wore, rather than the pink dress worn by the girls in their class.

When puberty came, Taka was forced to suffer hormone injections. Insurance, to make  _certain_ that there wouldn't be any too noticeable curves under her uniforms. Of course, the hormone injections couldn't be  _too_ potent either – she  _would_ still be allowed to marry a boy some day, and have children with him, so long as that boy wasn't Mitsukuni. Taka didn't think the family really had to worry about that. She was loyal to her cousin and acted the part of unneeded protector to him, as her younger brother Satoshi did for Mitsukuni's little brother Yasuchika... and the charade had been going on for so much of her life that Mitsukuni never even knew that 'Takashi' was actually 'Taka', and that 'he'  _didn't_ have a large birthmark across 'his' torso that the plastic surgeons wanted to wait to operate on until 'he' was out of school, just in case it faded on its own – which it wouldn't, because it was a lie. A lie to cover up that Taka's small breasts were tightly bound away into nothingness beneath her shirt.

A lie that fooled even an information-obsessive Ootori, who was in the grade below them, when the son of the school superintendent recruited Mitsukuni – and Taka by association – into joining a Host Club.

No one knew that Taka was a girl. Not her cousin, not her younger brother, there were some days when it seemed that even her father forgot that she was his daughter, and not his son. Her mother still remembered, but that was likely due to being the person who helped Taka learn to cope with the changes her body went through – and how to hide them all effectively. It was her mother, as well, who had overseen the hormone treatment when Taka had entered puberty.

Now though, as she looked forward to her  _last_ year of high school left, Taka was slowly being allowed  _off_ the hormone treatments.

She had no way of knowing that, in this one year, her whole world would be turned upside-down and righted by the boy who had been accepted into Ouran as a scholarship student.

“Host Club?” the boy asked, an eyebrow raised over his glasses as Tamaki finished his greeting – and explanation of exactly _what_ the boy had stumbled into.

“What, it's a guy?” the twins asked together, finally looking at the guest that they had all just welcomed.

“Hikaru and Kaoru,” Kyouya said, “you two are in the same class as this guest, right?”

“Yeah, but,” the two said, moving together, talking together, identical if only differentiated by such a very _slight_ difference in the pitch of their voices, “this person doesn't go along with others much, so we don't really know him that well,” they answered, giving a shrug.

“That's a little rude,” Kyouya noted with a sort of detached amusement, to which the twins simply turned their backs. “Well, welcome to the Host Club, Special Student.”

“What?!” Tamaki said, popping out of his seat, blue eyes wide. “So he's that exceptional Special Student, Fujioka Haruhi-kun?!”

Now, the boy had about-faced to leave and find another room to study in, but hearing his name cross the lips of someone he had _not_ introduced himself to stilled him.

“Why do you know my name?” he asked.

“Well, the way this school works makes it hard for a commoner to get in,” Kyouya explained with an easy shrug. “They say it's pretty hard to be accepted unless you're a studious bookworm. So, welcome to the school, Special Student.”

“Ah,” Fujioka-kun said, one eyebrow twitching as he tried to not be insulted by truth, even when it was spoken in such a superior and condescending tone. “Then, thank you,” and was about to turn and reach for the doorknob again when a hand clapped around his shoulder and pulled him against a jacket that Fujioka-kun himself was lacking.

“So, you are something of a hero, Fujioka-kun,” Tamaki explained. “Even if you are the number one student in your class, you are the poorest student in the whole school! Others might marginalise you as a lowly civilian!”

“You mean, like _you_ are doing _now_?” Fujioka-kun asked pointedly, and pinched the back of Tamaki's hand to force him to remove it. “Please excuse me,” he said, and turned again for the door.

This time, a _pair_ of hands grabbed his wrist, and he was dragged further into the room. “Ne, Haru-chan, Haru-chan!” Mitsukuni chirped happily. “You're a hero? That's awesome!”

“I'm extremely studious, not heroic,” Fujioka-kun corrected with a slight smile. “Wait... _who are you calling Haru-chan_?!” he demanded sharply.

Mitsukuni backed off with a wail of unhappiness, and tears in his eyes. Taka picked up Mitsukuni's bunny where he'd dropped it, and made it move a little to cheer up her older cousin until he felt good enough to take it himself. Really, for all that she was younger, sometimes she felt like a second mother to her cousin.

“But I never expected the famous bookworm to be gay,” noted Tamaki with a sort of calm, curious thoughtfulness. “So!” Tamaki said, cheering up and dropping the thoughtful act. “What Type do you fancy?” he asked, and presented each of them to their new guest.

Taka, for reasons beyond _her_ comprehension, was classed as the 'wild type'. Mitsukuni fit 'loli-shouta' like it had been made for him, the twins _were_ 'little devils', and Kyouya was _very_ 'cool' (to the point of being frigid, it could be argued). But she just didn't see how she got 'wild'.

“I was just looking for a quiet place to study,” Fujioka-kun objected, but his eye cast critical over all of them – until it fixed on Taka.

“Or perhaps you'd like to give me a try?” Tamaki said, invading Fujioka-kun's space and bringing a hand up under his chin almost flirtatiously. “Wanna go?” he asked in his best husky voice.

“Definitely not,” Fujioka-kun said firmly, and slapped the hand away with a scowl. “I already said, I was just looking for somewhere quiet to study. Besides, you said this club was about making profit, and I hardly have money to spend on your _games_.”  
“The designations themselves are not where the money comes,” Kyouya stated with a shrug. “It comes more from the merchandise of the Hosts that we also sell.”

Fujioka-kun's eyes narrowed a little on Kyouya's face before they returned to Taka. “How much _does_ it cost to designate a Host?” he asked, speculatively.

Kyouya smiled like a shark circling its next victim.

Fujioka-kun finally drew his intent gaze away from Taka. “Actually, no. Putting myself in debt to this club wouldn't be good, so I'll leave now,” he said, and with a polite nod, turned, grasped the doorknob, and let himself out.

Kyouya's smile was surprised right off his face. He even blinked in shock. He was sure he'd been about to secure a new customer.

“Haven't you ever heard the saying?” Fujioka-kun asked, half-way out the door. “If you have to ask, then it's too much,” he said with a smile, and then closed the door behind him as he left.

“Kyouya,” Tamaki said softly. “Would you please investigate Fujioka-kun? It is difficult to tell with the glasses...”

“Oi Tono, you want him as a Host?” the twins asked.

“Mm... Possibly,” Tamaki allowed.

“Takashi, Haru-chan was looking very intently at you,” Mitsukuni observed curiously.

“Ah,” she answered softly. The hormone treatments meant that her voice was lower than it might have been otherwise, but speaking few words, and those softly, also helped the feminine timbre of her voice go unnoticed.

“Do you think he would be interested in designating Mori-sempai, Hani-sempai?” Kyouya asked the shortest, but also _oldest_ member of the Host Club. “I'm afraid that I hadn't actually noticed that Fujioka-kun was looking at any Host in particular.”

“Un!” Mitsukuni said with an emphatic nod.

“Well, I will be investigating Fujioka-kun in any event, so I suppose we will see what happens,” Kyouya said with a thoughtful expression and a decided nod.

~oOo~

“Tadaima,” Haruhi called softly as he opened the front door of the apartment that he shared with his father.

“Oh, Haruhi, okaeri nasai,” Ryouji greeted in return, a tired smile on his face. “How was school today?”

“It was alright,” Haruhi answered as he toed off his shoes. “There isn't really anywhere quiet to study, and I found an interesting club by accident. How was your shift at the bottle shop?”

Ryouji sighed tiredly, but was smiling still. “The boss has decided that I deserve a promotion, so I'll be getting a raise, better hours, and will occasionally be sent on business trips,” he answered.

Haruhi smiled brightly at this news. “That's _great_ Tou-san!” he cheered softly, and hurried to give his father a hug. “I'm so happy for you! Will the promotion mean you don't have to work as many jobs?”

Ryouji shook his head. “I'm still going to keep all _three_ of my jobs, Haruhi,” he informed his son, even as he returned the hug. “A few extra yen here and there will mean we have less to worry about, and I'm already used to the long days.”

Haruhi's shoulders slumped a little. “Oh,” he said. “Well, you'd better take a nap then Tou-san, and I'll make you a bento to take to the bar for your shift there. That _is_ what you have next, isn't it?”

Rouyji nodded. “It is,” he agreed. “Mm, I suppose I could use a little beauty sleep before leaving to the okama bar. Oh, and Momo-chan called to say he'd finished making your uniform for you. I'll bring it back with me when I get off shift tonight. And I bought new contacts for you on the way home today.”

“Thanks Tou-san. Momo-chan said he wanted a batch of cookies for it, didn't he?” Haruhi asked, smile bright with anticipation. He'd been wearing the same white shirt and black trousers that he'd worn in middle-school so far – no jacket, no tie, it was a really _good_ thing that it hadn't turned cold yet – but they were also starting to get a bit small, since he'd grown a bit since the previous school year.

Momo-chan, one of the okama that her dad worked with at the bar, had made her old middle school uniform for her in exchange for some of Haruhi's baking. It was the same arrangement again, but with the new uniform. A new uniform that would be _just_ as tailored as those of the rich kids Haruhi went to school with, since Momo-chan was _really_ good at sewing, and was always _very_ thorough about getting Haruhi's measurements.

“Yes,” Ryouji agreed. “The gluten-free ones your mother left you the recipe for.”

Haruhi smiled and nodded. “I'll bake them while I make your bento and my dinner,” Haruhi promised. “You just rest.”

Ryouji nodded in acceptance and stood from where he'd been resting on the couch. “Oh, Haruhi, what about this interesting club? Do you think you might join it?” he asked.

“Join?” Haruhi repeated, and raised a thoughtful finger to his chin. “Well, _maybe_ ,” he allowed. “It might be useful, when I become a lawyer... I'll think about it,” he promised. “It definitely is an issue that will need thought. It's... _unique_ to Ouran, apparently.”

“Oh?” Ryouji asked. “What sort of club? You haven't actually told me yet.”

“A Host Club,” Haruhi answered his father with a slight smile.

Ryouji laughed. “Oh, then you _should_ join, my Haruhi! You're so handsome, any host club would be thrilled to have you!” he insisted. A host club at a _school_ may not be a normal thing, but there was one at either end of the same street where Ryouji worked in the okama bar.

Both father and son were at least passingly familiar with that sort of business.

“And, if you have experience, then you could get a real job as a professional Host, to help you through university,” Ryouji added more thoughtfully.

Haruhi smiled back. “Well, maybe,” he said again. “Go rest, Tou-san.”

“Hai, hai. And Haruhi, if the noise is such a problem, why not just buy some earplugs?”

Haruhi laughed. “I'll do that tomorrow,” he promised. “Thank you, Tou-san.”

“Anything for my precious son.”

~oOo~

Taka was confused, and the confusion was distracting. The way that Fujioka-kun had looked at her earlier... no one had ever looked at her that way. Not the girls who came to the Host Club, not the other members of the Host Club, not anybody in her family... She had no idea what that look could have been, but she couldn't stop thinking about Fujioka-kun and the look he had given her.

Kyouya was very efficient though. Or his private investigators were. By the time they closed the doors of Club that day, Kyouya was able to report to them a great deal about Fujioka-kun.

Apart from being incredibly smart and studious, Fujioka-kun was also very popular at his previous school, and was the recipient of a love confession at least once a month – though it seemed he had still yet to go on a date or share his first kiss. No one was quite sure how to react to the information Kyouya was presenting to them, least of all because they weren't sure they wanted to know _how_ he'd _gotten_ such information.

But it still didn't explain to Taka why he'd looked at her like that!

Resigned to not knowing – for now at least – Taka escorted Mitsukuni to his limousine, then climbed into her own.

“The dojo,” Taka informed the driver shortly, letting him know where she wanted to be taken with as few words as possible – something that the many servants to the Morinozuka family had learned to interpret over the years, and true to form, her driver took her to the family dojo, rather than straight home.

“Shall I wait, Morinozuka-sama?” the driver asked as he held her door open to let her out.

Taka inclined her head in an affirmative. “I may be some time,” she warned softly.

The driver nodded in acceptance. It was his job to drive her, and wait for her if she was going to be somewhere for an indeterminate amount of time so that he could drive her to her next destination, until he was released from service until the next morning.

Inside the dojo, Taka went straight to her private changing room and swapped her school uniform for her kendo uniform, chose a solid mahogany bokken, and started on her first set of kata as she tried to sweat out her confusing thoughts about Fujioka-kun and the way he'd looked at her.

For a while it worked. Taka could focus on her forms, the feel of the bokken in her hands, the burn of her muscles as she forced them to move faster, strike harder, stop more suddenly and perfectly at the end of a strike... But when she had exhausted herself, returned the bokken to the rack, and was stripping from her kendo uniform to shower, the thoughts came back.

Fujioka-kun had been handsome enough, she supposed, in his white shirt and black trousers, with no tie or jacket to soften his lean build. The large glasses had hidden his face, but even so, she could see why Tamaki was thinking about him for the Host Club. When Kyouya had produced a student ID picture of Fujioka-kun _without_ the glasses, the decision had been solidified – Tamaki _wanted_ Fujioka-kun for the Host Club, and what Tamaki wanted, provided it didn't involve his own family, he very frequently _got_.

Which meant that she would have many opportunities to spend time with Fujioka-kun and figure out what that strange look he'd been giving her was.

For some reason, as she thought that and passed the wash cloth over her chest, she felt a tingling that she hadn't ever felt before. Strange, but not unpleasant. Still, she frowned and wondered what it was... only to shake her head firmly and continue to wash the sweat from her body quickly and efficiently, _determined_ that she would not think of Fujioka-kun's singular expression when he was looking at her again.

Perhaps she should talk to her mother about the matter. Since she was coming off the hormone treatments at last, Taka was (finally) going to start properly developing more feminine features, however slightly since she was almost _out_ of her teenage years. It was time she knew something more about how she was supposed to react to boys... as a _girl_ , rather than as another boy.

Though, granted, the Host Club was quite educational for how _most_ of the girls in the school reacted to boys. Taka wasn't sure she was really ever going to be the swooning type, though. She hoped that she didn't have to be.

Yes, she would talk with her mother.

“Kaa-san, may I speak with you?” Taka asked as she knocked on the door of her mother's private parlour.

“Sit, Takashi,” Morinozuka Shizune answered with a gesture towards the other cushion at her low table, and reached for a bell that would summon one of the staff with her other hand. “Another cup for my eldest, and a fresh pot while you're at it,” she requested of the maid who had appeared at the ringing.

The maid bowed, vanished, quickly returned with the requested items, and disappeared out of sight again.

“Now Takashi, what did you wish to speak with me about?” Shizune asked as she poured tea into her daughter's cup.

“Something happened today at the Host Club -” Taka started.  
“From what I understand, something almost _always_ happens at the Host Club,” Shizune cut in with an amused chuckle.

“Kaa-san, please,” Taka begged softly.

Shizune waved a hand absently for her child to continue.

“A boy from class 1A visited us, briefly. I believe he didn't know what happened in that room prior to opening the door. When he looked at me he... had an expression on his face that I have never seen before. He didn't look at any of the other Hosts with that expression,” Taka explained.

“A boy looked at you strangely?” she asked. One dark eyebrow, elegantly plucked, arched in artful curiosity.

“Aa,” Taka answered with a nod. “I don't know what to think of it. The Host Club has never had any male clientele to make a comparison,” she confessed softly.

Shizune sighed a little. “I can give you no advice on this without knowing more about the boy and seeing the look he gave you for myself,” she told her daughter, a little apologetically. “Are you likely to cross paths with this boy again?” she asked.

Taka nodded.

“Then, you will have opportunity to discover the meaning of this for yourself,” Shizune stated, and gave a decisive nod.

Taka nodded silently in acceptance and drank her tea. “There is another thing,” Taka said softly as she set down her cup.

“Oh?”

“I went to the dojo after, to try and remove thoughts of this boy from my head with exertion, but when I went to shower my mind trailed back to him and the strange look he gave me. My...” Taka halted, blushed slightly and looked down at her bound chest. “When I was showering and thinking of how he had looked at me... I felt...” Taka frowned, unsure how to go on.

Shizune blinked in surprise. “Well,” she said. “I suppose it was bound to happen eventually, especially since the treatments are stopping.”

“Kaa-san, what is it?” Taka asked, truly concerned though her voice remained soft and her face a careful mask of neutrality.

Shizune smiled. “Is this boy attractive, my child?” she asked slyly.

Taka nodded slowly, hesitantly, unsure where such a line of questioning could be leading.

“Do you think you could be attracted to him?” Shizune asked, and it was all innocence, even though the previous question had been given with such a sly smile on her face.

Taka's eyes widened and a slight blush tinted her cheeks at the suggestion, at the thought that she could be – but... Taka frowned in thought. Yes. She thought Fujioka-kun was handsome, and that look he'd given her had intrigued her, captured her attention. When Tamaki had asked Fujioka-kun who he might wish to designate, Fujioka-kun had focused on _her_ , and though Taka was used to having designates, they were all girls. To have a _boy_ give her that sort of attention...

But...

“He thinks I am a boy,” Taka pointed out.

Shizune shrugged, as though that were not a problem. “It is up to you whether you reveal the truth to him,” she said. “You will not be attending Ouran much longer, and your true gender will be revealed to all those of our acquaintance at the ball we will be having when you have graduated. Tell me, my child, what is the name of this boy? Who are his family?”

“His name is Fujioka Haruhi-kun,” Taka anwered. “He is a special student, able to attend Ouran on scholarship.”

Shizune blinked in surprise again. “Oh? He must be very smart to have achieved such. Hmm... If you wish to pursue a relationship with Fujioka-san, my child, no one in the family will stand against you. Our objections against a romantic relationship between yourself and Mitsukuni aside, we _do_ want you to marry for _love_ , and not a business deal.” Shizune smiled then. “Satoshi, on the other hand,” she added teasingly, and did not need to finish her sentence. The implication was _quite_ clear – Satoshi, after all, would be the one of them carrying on the family name.

Taka resisted the urge to sigh. This was the relationship between them, and only when no one else was looking.

~oOo~

“Ah, Fujioka-kun,” the twins greeted as Haruhi entered the 1A classroom. “Ohayo.”

“Ohayo, Hitachiin-kun, Hitachiin-kun,” Haruhi returned in greeting as he set his bag on his desk – it happened to be right between theirs.

“Tamaki-sempai wants you to join the Host Club,” Hikaru announced, and cocked his head to the side slightly. “Without the glasses obscuring your face, you really do look more like someone who would fit in the Club.”

“So, _will_ you join the Host Club?” the twins asked – and every girl in the room seemed to be listening intently, eager to hear the answer.

“Eh,” Haruhi said with shrug, a slight smile on his face – he _had_ ultimately decided that he'd look into joining the club today, if he could. “It could be fun,” he agreed, “and I'll get to know some of my classmates better.”

“Ah!” exclaimed nearly _every_ girl in the classroom, and (while there was time before the chimes sounded to begin their scholastic day) they mobbed him.

“Fujioka-kun, you're really joining the Host Club?”

“Can we designate you, Fujioka-kun?”

“Fujioka-kun, you've been attending Ouran for a week already, why haven't you joined any of the clubs sooner?”

“Ah, everybody, please,” Haruhi said, and waved his hands a little in what was intended as a calming sort of motion. “Yes, I'm _really_ joining the Host Club, I would be _delighted_ for you to designate me, and I haven't joined any clubs until now because I wanted to be sure I would be able to keep up my grades. If I don't hold the number one position in class ranking, I lose my scholarship after all,” he pointed out with a smile.

Thankfully, before any more questions could be pressed upon him, the chime sounded and the teacher arrived in the classroom, where he called them all to order.

When lunch time came, Haruhi remained behind in the classroom while his peers all left for the cafeteria to buy their lunches. He'd packed a bento, and was planning on getting as much of his homework done in the lunch break as he could – just as he did every other day he'd attended Ouran so far. Now, with him joining a club, using this time for study would be just that little bit more valuable, since he had no idea how much time the Host Club would take from each day. Though, he might still be able to get some study done _in_ club hours. It might be tricky, but he was sure there must be a way.

Well, he'd get to find out in just a couple more hours.

… And he'd get to see that tall 'wild type' again. Since he would be joining the club, he should get an introduction as well. That person was interesting to him. It was like... meeting a new person at the okama bar, having to take a moment to figure out if they were a man or a woman. Face- and body-shape alone wouldn't tell him that, nor their voice – some of the okama were _very_ convincing – but Haruhi couldn't figure out _why_ the 'wild type' gave him that feeling.

There shouldn't be any reason for a person to be cross-dressing while at school, right? And yet... when he was finally introduced to Morinozuka Takashi, Haruhi couldn't help but notice the same things that had caught his eye the first time he'd stumbled on this club.

There was _no_ hint of stubble – at _all_ , and third-year high school even the _late_ bloomers were at least _beginning_ to experiment with the possibility of facial hair that was showing up (Haninozuka Mitsukuni was very well shaved, but Haruhi could tell, the loli-shouta senior _did_ shave). There was _no_ definition of an Adam's Apple in the neck – again, at _all_ , and though there _were_ men who didn't have very defined Adam's Apples, this was a neck that even such fortunate okamas would be envious of.

Haruhi's eyes raked downwards. The trousers for the school uniforms here were very well made, but that didn't stop certain... _bulges_ from having to be arranged around the fly. Morinozuka Takashi, Haruhi decided, was either an _expert_ at arranging himself so that his trousers sat flat, or else he didn't have to be concerned about the matter at all. Not that he let his eye linger _there_. That would be _indelicate_ , and would probably upset the constitutions of the other men in the club.

“Haru-chan, why are you looking at Takashi that way?” Hani-sempai asked.

Haruhi sighed softly and turned his attention from Morinozuka Takashi to the shota. “Hani-sempai, I don't mind if you call me 'Haru', but please don't call me '-chan',” he requested politely.

“Eh? Why? And... what would you like me to call you?” Hani-sempai asied, his brown eyes wide.

“As long as it's not '-chan', then I don't really mind,” Haruhi answered with a shrug.

“Mm...” Hani-sempai hummed through a thoughtful pout. “Alright,” he decided with a nod. “But, Haru-kun, you didn't answer my question! Why were you looking at Takashi that way?”

“Aa,” Morinozuka agreed softly.

Haruhi smiled – and he was smiling at the taller senior, even though he was replying to the shorter one. “Because I'm curious to know more about Morinozuka-sempai,” he answered. “I can tell,” he said, “that my sempai is a very interesting person.”


	2. Chapter 2

Taka blushed. She hadn't _meant_ to blush, and it wasn't a deep blush, just a slight warming of the cheeks, but it was a blush all the same.

“So you _are_ gay?” Kaoru asked. “You came to the Host Club yesterday and seemed interested before you left.”

For some reason, Taka was suddenly terrified of the answer that Fujioka-kun would give. It was probably the same reason she hadn't had much luck in being able to stop thinking about him since he'd looked at her so strangely yesterday morning. But it was still frustrating that she didn't know what that reason _was_.

“I'm not gay,” Fujioka-kun answered with a shrug. “Men, women, looks... it makes no difference really,” he explained. “Not for romantic relationships. All that you need is compatibility between two people. The rest is superficial.”

Taka felt like her chest was being squeezed from the inside while at the same time a knot that had been tightly tied around her heart (that she hadn't known was there until that moment) was finally undone. It was a good feeling, if new and strange.

Tamaki frowned. “I could understand having to console yourself with such words if you were not attractive, but... that is not the case here,” he said, clearly confused. “Why, you are as cute as a girl!”

Fujioka-kun raised an eyebrow at the club's president. “Yes,” he said with a vague, wry curl at one corner of his mouth. “I _am_ aware of that.”

“Think about this carefully,” Tamaki continued, making grand gestures and not really listening at all. “Why are there art pieces in museums? Yes, beautiful things show themselves off because it is their duty! And so, for people who crave beauty, I stood up and established this club, working day and night in pursuit of beauty!”

“Obnoxious,” Fujioka-san said flatly.

“Urk!” Tamaki croaked. He paled and folded, curling himself up into a little ball of depression.

“You really _are_ a hero, Fujioka!” the twins cheered happily, each laying one of their hands on Fujioka-kun's head as they grinned.

“To comfort yourself in such a way,” Fujioka-kun parroted, “suggests that you have no depth of character,” he continued blandly. “A person is not a work of art, static, unchanging and unresponsive. A person has motivations, thoughts, and inclinations, all of which can be influenced and can change, however fast or slowly, over time, as the person grows and physically changes as well.”

“If you object so much, then why did you agree to join the Host Club?” Kyouya asked.

Fujioka-kun smiled. “Because a host club is the sort of club that is dedicated to chit-chat,” he answered. “Just because Suou-sempai is shallow and obnoxious does not mean that the conversations I will get to have as a member of this club need to be.”

“Deep! Deep!” the twins exclaimed, hands raised to their foreheads as they stumbled about a little as they backed away. “It's so _deep_!”

“Aa,” Kyouya agreed. “But I am not certain that we can market you as a 'deep type',” he pointed out, though his tone was speculative. “We will see how your first day goes.”

The doors were opened for the customers shortly thereafter. Taka kept watch on Fujioka-kun out of the corner of one eye, and silently compared what he did to what every other Host did.

Tamaki pandered, praised and complimented the girls who flocked to him, basking in their attention as they all blushed at his. The twins did their forbidden love act as the girls who designated them watched with bated breath for the moment it became the most intense. Mitsukuni hammed it up, being as cute and adorable and childish as he could be – and without his family there to give censure, he could be _very_ childish. Kyouya spoke smoothly of small details that could be seen around the Club (including the other Hosts) or else discussed upcoming Club events that the girls might like to attend.

Fujioka-kun... actually shared conversation with his designates. He gave each one of the girls his full attention. He asked them questions about themselves, he answered their questions about him... and without being romantic at all Fujioka Haruhi-kun captured their hearts and became woven into their fantasies.

But he didn't look at any of them the way he'd looked at _her_.

“Fujioka-kun is a 'natural',” Kyouya stated when the last of the customers had left, and it was just them gathered together at the end of the day. “And very popular.”

Fujioka-kun shrugged, sighed, and shook his head a little. “I can't really help that,” he said.

“In any case, it seems that it is good for this club that you are,” Kyouya countered with a smile.

The next day, one of the customers – Ayanokoji-san – took offence to Fujioka-kun's presence in the club and Tamaki's fascination with him as a novel creature (a commoner). She threw his bag into one of the ponds and spoke harshly to him. Tamaki (apologetically) informed her that, despite being beautiful, she wasn't suited to being a customer of the Host Club – and would not be welcomed back.

Taka couldn't find it in herself to do more than pity the girl. If she was going to be the _irrationally_ jealous type, then falling for Tamaki – King of the Host Club – just wasn't smart, and taking that jealousy out on Fujioka-kun was beyond foolishness.

~oOo~

When Haruhi arrived at the club room to see a crew of men setting up a tropical scene, he raised an eyebrow. It was just the beginning of spring, after all. Ouran was the only school in Japan to start its academic year in the spring, with the beginning of the calendar year, rather than after the summer break as every other school did. Then again, this particular detail wasn't _so_ bad. It had actually given Haruhi an extra semester to study, so that he'd begin with the other students, rather than joining a class half-way through their academic year. Haruhi was still closer in age to the first-year students than the second-year students. It was alright.

Haruhi was pulled from his thoughts on seasonality when he saw the costumes.

“I'm not wearing that,” Haruhi said flatly.

“Eh?!” Tamaki wailed. “Why not?!”

“I wouldn't be comfortable,” Haruhi answered with a shrug. “If I'm uncomfortable, I won't be able to make conversation as easily. If I fail to make conversation...”

“It would upset your guests,” Kyouya agreed with a nod. “You do not have to wear it. As the 'natural type', you can get away with that.”

“If we were having a photo shoot, I'd wear it,” Haruhi allowed.

A sunbeam caught on Kyouya's glasses, and a glint in his eye sparked.

“I don't have to be comfortable in clothes to pose in them, after all,” Haruhi continued, unaware of or deliberately ignoring the way Kyouya was listening so _very_ intently. “Though, when it's Jun-chan and Misa-chan dressing me up to take pictures in for their portfolio, I never feel uncomfortable. They're just a lot of fun,” he said with a fond smile.

“Jun-chan and Misa-chan?” Kyouya asked.

Haruhi nodded. “Un,” he agreed. “They're photography students at university that work part-time at the same bar that my father does.” Meaning, the okama bar. Jun was actually Jun-chan's _real_ name, but since it worked for boys and girls, he didn't bother to change more than the suffix. Misa-chan's real name was Masashi. “They're very good too.”

“How much would they charge, do you think, if I were to call them to take pictures for us?” Kyouya asked, his tone neutral.

Haruhi smirked slightly. “If you let them have a copy of every photo they take for their own portfolios, and let them name who their models were, they won't charge at all. It would be mutually beneficial. You'll get _several_ roles of film of professional quality pictures to sell at your leisure, they'll have pictures of rich and someday influential people in their portfolios,” Haruhi explained.

Kyouya smirked back. “Very clever, Fujioka-kun,” he complimented.

“I want to be a lawyer some day,” Haruhi answered with a shrug. “Making negotiations that everyone comes out happy from will be a big part of that,” he explained. “Shall I call them to come by after club is over to take pictures then?”

Kyouya nodded and handed over his phone.

“Ah, Misa-chan,” Haruhi greeted with a smile after dialling and getting an answer. “How are you? … Good, and Jun-chan? … I see, well, I may have something that will help with that. You've heard from my father that I've joined a club? … Yes, well, we have a theme today. … Tropical, there are palm trees, coconuts, there's even a toucan flying around in here, and there's a costume for everyone. … Hehe, I thought you'd say that. How would you and Jun-chan like to come over and take pictures? … No, Misa-chan, I'm _not_ teasing. … Yes, of course you can. I can't see anybody here objecting all that much. … Mm, after you've developed the photos for your own portfolios, we'd like to have copies of _all_ of them to reproduce for club sales. … Two hours, you ask for directions to the _third_ music room. … Yes, the _third_ music room, there's more than one. … Alright Misa-chan. I'll see you and Jun-chan in two hours,” Haruhi said with a smile, then pressed the button to end the call and returned the phone to Kyouya.

“What won't we object to?” Kyouya asked as he took back his phone.

Haruhi smiled. “That would spoil the surprise,” he answered, and moved off to start setting out the crockery for when the guests arrived. There was going to be a bar full of fruity drinks today, but there still needed to be plates for the snacks.

“Oh, and Fujioka-kun, be sure to tell your guests today that the Host Club will be having a dance party in a week's time,” Kyouya said as he set his note pad down and picked up his costume to get changed.

“Dance party?” Haruhi echoed.

“Aah!” Tamaki sighed happily. “We shall have the entire central hall of the Central Building, and it will be just the most _fantastic_ thing ever!” he proclaimed, already dancing about a bit.

“I think it will be difficult,” Haruhi countered, shaking his head.

“Oh?” the twins asked, appearing behind him suddenly.

“With _every_ young lady who visits the club in attendance, and just a few Hosts to entertain them all, we Hosts will have sore feet from so much dancing, and the guests will have spent most of the evening standing around, watching us dance with others,” Haruhi explained.

“A good point,” Kyouya stated from behind the changing curtain. “Perhaps we should invite the fiancés of those guests who have them. We should give them a chance to foster romance in their arranged matches, should we not?”

“Yes!” Tamaki answered with fierce joy. “An excellent idea Kyouya!”

When he emerged, Kyouya wore a long green wrap around his waist with gold accessories lightly decorating his naked torso. The twins were in short, matching checked blue wraps over orange baggy trousers, and odd carved necklaces. Hani-sempai's wrap over yellow trousers had flowers printed on it, and he wore a garland of flowers around his neck. Apart from Tamaki in his one-sleeved thing with all the extra gold jewellery, and Haruhi still in uniform, Morinozuka-sempai was the only person wearing any kind of shirt – not that it _looked_ like he was wearing a shirt. Actually, it was a skin-toned and skin-tight top with a pattern on it to make it look like Morinozuka-sempai had a large, exotic tattoo... that disappeared tantalisingly into his baggy purple trousers.

Haruhi shook his head to himself. Now was not a good time to try and puzzle out any part of the mysteries of his tall sempai. The customers would be arriving soon, after all.

And arrive they did.

One girl, in a later shift, decided that Haruhi would be her 'new favourite' – which sent Tamaki-sempai into a pouting fit until Kyouya reminded him that he still had customers to attend to – as soon as she sat down and before they'd even really done more than introduce themselves.

“Kasugasaki-san,” Haruhi greeted as she took one of the chairs vacated by the... previous shift... of girls. “Have you heard yet of the dance party?”

She nodded. “I have,” she answered. “I hope you will dance with me there?”

Haruhi chuckled a little sheepishly. “I'll need dance lessons before that can happen,” he admitted freely. “But... wouldn't you rather dance with your fiancé?”

She blushed brightly. “H-h-how did you know about that?” she asked.

Haruhi smiled gently. “Kyouya-sempai is _very_ thorough in the information of the guests of the Host Club. When I am meeting a guest for the first time, I ask him for a copy of his files so that I have some idea what we might talk about,” he answered.

Kasugasaki-san blushed and looked down. “He wouldn't want to dance with me,” she said softly, sadly.

Haruhi reached out and lay a hand over her wrist, since both of her hands were already wrapped around a cup. “How do you know that, if you're so busy _here_ that you never talk with _him_?” he asked kindly, and smiled for her. “Maybe he thinks that it is _you_ who would not want to dance with _him._ ”

Kasugasaki-san's eyes went wide as she looked up sharply, a blush on her face.

“Boys aren't mind-readers, any more than girls are,” Haruhi pointed out, as he withdrew his hand from her wrist and offered a supportive sort of smile. “And when you are so afraid of being rejected that neither of you can talk to each other, that is when you need to talk to each other the most.”

Kasugasaki-san smiled a little, tears brimming in her eyes. “Arigato, Haruhi-kun,” she said softly.

~oOo~

“Haruhi-kuuuuuuun!” two voices called in ringing cheers from the door, catching nearly all of the members of the Host Club by surprise. They _had_ just _farewelled_ the last of their guests for the day, after all, and now here were two people bursting in on them. One had long, curly, dusky-pink hair, and the other hand straight blonde hair done up in pigtails. Both were wearing skinny jeans with skirts over the top, black shits, and _lots_ of bangles and necklaces.

“Jun-chan, Misa-chan, I hope you didn't get lost?” Haruhi asked them as he moved quickly to welcome them. “Do you want help with anything?”

“You're such a gentleman, Haruhi-kun,” said the pink-haired one, and nuzzled Haruhi's cheek – leaving a slight mark from lip-gloss from accidental contact. “But we're quite alright, and I can see you still need to change for this photo shoot you arranged.”

Haruhi chuckled. “Hai, Jun-chan, I'll do that as soon as I've introduced you to everybody. You can start setting up while I change, I'm sure,” he said, and beckoned the two further into the room where the rest of the Host Club were staring. “Minna, this is Jun-chan -” Haruhi gestured to the pink-haired person, “- and Misa-chan.” The blonde. “They're photography students at university, and friends of mine. They're going to take pictures of you in your costumes before the tropical paradise gets taken away again.”

“Eh?” the twins asked.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice,” Kyouya said, stepping forward with a hand extended and a smile on his face. “We are blessed, that Fujioka-kun has such friends that may be called upon for mutually beneficial endeavours. I am Ootori Kyouya, I asked him to call you earlier.”

“An absolute pleasure,” Jun-chan said as accepting Kyouya's hand.

“And such _lovely_ friends as well,” Tamaki said as he stepped up, smiling seductively as he bent over Misa-chan's hand. “Though I am disappointed that Kyouya didn't tell me that you were coming.”

“Ah, an oversight,” Kyouya admitted with a serene smile.

“Oh, I like you,” Misa-chan said with a smile at Tamaki. “Haruhi-kun, who is this handsome young man?”

“Suou Tamaki-sempai, the president of the Host Club,” Haruhi answered. “Also are the twins, Hitachiin Hikaru-san and Hitachiin Kaoru-san, and the seniors, Morinozuka Takashi-sempai, and Haninozuka Mitsukuni-sempai. If you will excuse me, I will change now.”

Kyouya nodded. He could handle it from here, he was sure.

“Call me Hani!” Hani-sempai said happily as he bounced up to them. “You're friends of Haru-kun's?”

“Oh, you're adorable,” Jun-chan cooed. “And yes, we have a part-time job at the same place as Haruhi-kun's father, and met that way, but since then Haruhi-kun has been kind enough to model for us when we needed him to.”

“And today, they're going to take pictures of _us_ ,” Kyouya said happily. “Jun-chan and Misa-chan will get new pictures for their portfolios, and _we_ will have pictures worthy of selling as Host Club merchandise. I hope we can do this again?” he requested politely.

“You let us know,” Misa-chan said, “any time you want pictures for your club. We'll be happy to, on the basis of the same arrangement that Haruhi-kun worked out for us, of course.”

“Of course,” Kyouya agreed with a nod.

“Before we begin,” Misa-chan said firmly. “If Jun-chan or I ask you to do something that makes you uncomfortable for any reason, you have to tell us so. You don't have to tell us why, but you _do_ have to speak up.”

“Also,” Jun-chan continued with a smile, “we are okama, so you don't have to be _bashful_ around us for anything. If we make you uncomfortable though, again, you need to tell us.”

“Blushes can be good for the camera though,” Misa-chan protested with a slight pout.

Jun-chan stuck out his tongue, then set down his bags to pull out his photography equipment.

“Spoil-sport,” Misa-chan grumbled, even as he, too, set his bags down and started to get things out, ready for the photo shoot.

Changed into the baggy cream trousers and deep red wrap around his hips that had been his assigned costume – the one he'd refused to wear for the guests – Haruhi emerged from the changing rooms to find that the first Hosts to be subjected to the flash of the cameras were the twins. Jun-chan and Misa-chan were operating their cameras from different angles, and calling out requests for a hand to be raised or lowered, for the brothers to move this way or that way, further apart or closer together, and so on. When the two were satisfied that they'd taken enough pictures of the twins, they immediately pounced on Haruhi.

“Haruhi-kun, we need to take pictures of you in your costume quickly!” Misa-chan said. “We brought another for you as well, and we want pictures of you in it with the other Hosts after all the individual shots.”

“Oh?” Haruhi asked as he moved into the designated area for posing. “You took individual pictures of Hikaru-san and Karou-san? Not just the two of them together?”

“Of _course_ we did!” Jun-chan exclaimed, even as he brought up his camera. “Now, raise you hand, no, fingers splayed, yes, that's the way,” he schooled.

“And look dreamy,” Misa-chan ordered. “Off into the distance, now to Jun-chan's camera, now to mine, now ...” and so it continued until they were satisfied and Haruhi was sent off to change clothes again.

This time, when Haruhi emerged from the change room, he looked like a she. He was wearing a long, straight black wig (rather than an extension piece that matched his natural brown hair colour, as the Host Club might have chosen), mascara to make his eyelashes longer, and eye-liner to make his already large eyes pop out even more. The outfit was a deep, royal purple sari – and the little top underneath the sash over his shoulder had been _artfully_ padded to make it look like he genuinely filled a set of B-cups.

“Perfect timing!” Jun-chan cheered. “Come along Haruhi-kun! Oh, the purple of your sari and the purple of Mori-kun's outfit don't _quite_ match...” he pouted.

“That's what photo-shop is for,” Misa-chan stated with a grin as he replaced his role of film. “Now, the set up...”

~oOo~

Taka stared, shocked, at Fujioka-kun when he emerged from the changing room in a sari. It was beyond anything she was used to. Even after having been introduced to Jun-chan and Misa-chan, and been told that they were okama, it hadn't prepared her _at all_ for the dramatic change of the _boy_ who had looked at _her_ in a strange way (that she had _still_ yet to decipher)... now looking so much like a girl. And swaying his hips as he walked towards her through the foliage of the tropical island setting.

Slowly, Fujioka-kun's arms came up and wound around her neck – and she still had no idea what to do. The flashes of the cameras didn't register, she couldn't hear what Jun-chan and Misa-chan were saying, if they were saying anything at all, and... she could feel herself blushing as Fujioka-kun's face came closer to hers. So close that their noses touched and their lips _almost_ did as well.

The arms fell from around her neck, and suddenly she felt cold... but then they were coming up to cling to her back and shoulders while Fujioka-kun rested his head on her chest. Taka didn't even think as she brought a hand up to rest on Fujioka-kun's head. It was a hug, just like with Mitsukuni, and occasionally Satoshi – those she knew how to deal with, and she responded to such automatically. Even if she really had no idea why she was still blushing about Fujioka-kun having his arms around her and his head against her chest so innocently.

After all, he didn't know she wasn't a guy, so it _had_ to be innocent.

“My turn!” Mitsukuni cheered, and his voice snapped Taka out of whatever trance seeing Fujioka-kun in a sari had caused.

“Aa,” Taka answered, and carefully stepped back.

Fujioka-kun's arms fell away from her, and he straightened up. Just in time too – Mitsukuni had decided to jump into the younger boy's arms, rather than simply walk up.

Taka retreated to a seat and watched as Fujioka-kun was, by turns, 'maternal' with Mitsukuni, gave a massage to Kyouya (which, judging from the blissful expression that lingered even _after_ he was away from the camera, had been _good_ ), laughed and played with the two Hitachiins, and finally perched on one arm of Tamaki's 'throne' and fed him fruit. _She_ was the only one who Fujioka-kun had come close to _kissing_ for Jun-chan and Misa-chan. Taka couldn't remember hearing either of the university students giving directions at that time, so she wasn't sure if Fujioka-kun had only done it because he'd been told to... or if he'd done it because, for whatever reason, he'd _wanted_ to.

Worse, Taka wasn't sure which answer she dreaded more.

“Alright!” Jun-chan declared. “Now it's Haruhi-kun's choice!”

“Yes, we haven't done any really _intimate_ shots, and Haruhi-kun is our 'girl' for this, so he gets to pick,” Misa-chan said with a nod. “Unless...” he added, turning to the Hosts, “any of you will be uncomfortable with the concept?”

“It's posing for photos,” the twins said together with a shrug. “Not real.”

“How 'intimate' are we talking?” Kyouya asked seriously.

“I'll be on my back, with my sari in disarray, and one of you looming over me,” Fujioka-kun answered seriously, his tone a little bit detached as he described the scene. “We may do it the other way around as well,” he added, and he was walking up to her.

_Her_ !

“Morinozuka-sempai, will you do this with me?” Fujioka-kun asked softly.

“... Aa,” she answered softly, nodded, and stood from her chair.

“Ooh! And the python has come over! This is _perfect_! It's almost Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden!” Jun-chan nearly squealed with happiness.

Fujioka-kun looked around for the snake, and moved to sit on the floor near it, then started to arrange his sari before lying down.

“Now, Mori-kun, kneel so that you have one leg on either side of Haruhi-kun's hips,” Misa-chan directed.

Taka blushed, but did as she was told.

“Caress his face,” Jun-chan instructed. “Bend over him more, good, good. Cradle his head... that's right...”

Taka nearly ran for her life when the photo session was over, and Jun-chan and Misa-chan were packing up their things and talking to Fujioka-kun about coming by their studio. A Morinozuka didn't run from something as harmless as a photo shoot though, and so she walked, calmly, to the changing room and put on her school uniform again. Her school uniform that safely  _covered_ everything, with  _no_ chance of anybody finding out the secrets she was hiding beneath it.

Her school uniform that suddenly was performing extra duties as armour and security blanket in addition to its usual function as clothing.

The way Fujioka-kun looked at her... she didn't understand! He'd said he was curious to learn more about her, but... but she was just Morinozuka Taka! She liked history, geography, and kendo, she'd been raised as a boy even though she was a girl and it  _seemed_ like she was getting attention from a boy at last, but one who was at least a casual okama and... she was just so  _confused_ !

She frowned to herself and hurried (in as un-hurried-looking a way as she could) to her limousine and resolved that she would  _not_ think about Fujioka-kun again outside of Host Club activities.

She didn't hear Kyouya arrange for the two talented okama to be present at the dance party they'd be holding in a week – to take surreptitious shots of them dancing with their customers, and behind-the-scenes pictures of them after the party was over.


	3. Chapter 3

Haruhi sighed as he looked out over the swarms of girls present, some of them with their fiancé at their side, but most of them there  _solely_ to dance with the members of the Host Club. He'd been having dancing lessons since the dance party was announced, but really, the only thing even resembling a dance party that he'd ever been to was the bon-odori festivals. This... was a far cry from that. There were two dozen violinists providing the music for this, with another dozen people playing viola, cello and the double bass!

He judiciously decided to  _ignore_ the chandeliers. They were  _always_ in place in this hall. It was nuts. Really it was. These rich people seemed to have more money than sense sometimes.

“We wish you to enjoy this dance with all of our Host Club members,” Kyouya announced grandly in opening, as they all stood in their places before they would go down the stairs to actually _begin_ dancing. “Also, to the lady who displays the best dance, to the guest who is chosen as the _queen_ tonight, you shall receive a warm kiss from our king on your cheek,” Kyouya promised.

“Do your best, _baby_ ,” Tamaki said in his best husky voice, giving them all a wink.

“Ah!” the girls all squealed hopefully and happily together. At least _one_ of them fainted at the prospect.

Haruhi sighed again.

“Eh, you don't look enthusiastic,” the twins said, coming up on either side of him and laying their arms over his shoulders.

“The closest I've ever been to a dance party is the bon-odori festival in my neighbourhood,” Haruhi informed them both.

“I wouldn't call that a dance party,” Kyouya said plainly.

“My point exactly,” Haruhi stated.

“Well, in any case, at least have a taste of the food here,” Kyouya advised. “It'll be a treat.”

“Considering the levels of extravagance I'm seeing already,” Haruhi said with a sigh, “I don't doubt it. Well, the music is playing and the himes are waiting,” he said with shrug that forced the twin's arms off his shoulders, and headed down the steps to greet the guests.

Three quarters of an hour into the dance party, Haruhi had finally made his way to the buffet table – he'd danced with ten different girls already, all regular customers, and he was tired. Fortunately for him, there were also  _chairs_ near the buffet table. Unfortunately, he didn't  _dare_ take off his shoes and let his feet breathe. He wasn't sure he'd be able to bear putting them back on if he did.

“Tired?” a soft voice asked.

Haruhi looked up – and  _up_ – into Morinozuka-sempai's face. “Aa,” he agreed, and gestured that the other was welcome to the empty seat beside him. “What about you?”

The tall senior shrugged, but took the chair next to Haruhi.

“I suppose you're used to events like this?” Haruhi asked leadingly.

Morinozuka-sempai nodded, but didn't say a word.

Haruhi sighed. “Are you hungry?” he tried again, and cast a quick glance across the impressive spread. He hadn't had any yet, but he  _fully_ intended to. “Are there any of your favourites on the table?”

“Iie,” the 'wild type' said with a shake of the head.

“No you're not hungry, or no none of them are your favourites?” Haruhi asked, turning back to his sempai.

Who smiled just a little bit. “The latter,” he answered.

“Hmm,” Haruhi mused, “then I suppose you won't mind what I collect?”

Morinozuka-sempai silently indicated a negative, and Haruhi got up from his chair.

He grabbed a plate and piled on a few different things, as well as picking up a napkin and a small skewer. None of the food on offer needed anything larger than a small skewer, so he didn't have to worry about getting chopsticks. While he was up, he caught Jun-chan's eye, and gave a subtle jerk of the head, indicating he was about to do something that the university student might like to photograph.

Then he returned to where his sempai was sitting.

Haruhi sat down so that he was facing his sempai, and set the plate on his lap. “Close your eyes,” he requested with a smile.

Morinozuka-sempai raised a curious eyebrow, but obliged all the same.

Haruhi skewered a small bit of... something. He wasn't sure what it was, but it looked delicious. It was also big enough for two bites. “Open your mouth,” he instructed, and lifted the foodstuff to Morinozuka-sempai's mouth. “Now bite down,” he said once half the thing was past Morinozuka-sempai's teeth. As soon as the... stuff... was bitten through, Haruhi put the other half into his own mouth and  _relished_ the taste of it.

These rich people  _really_ knew how to do  _food_ .

Haruhi continued to do that – feed one bite of something to Morinozuka-sempai, and eat the other half himself, and occasionally wiping up a drop of sauce with the napkin – until the only thing left was a ball of chocolate that had a spot of gold leaf on the top. This, Haruhi picked up with his fingers.

“Bite down,” he instructed softly as he lightly touched the chocolate to his sempai's lips.

~oOo~

Taka had been very good about not peeking as Fujioka-kun fed her, and she'd managed to not jump when she felt a napkin cleaning a smudge off her face. It was a fascinating and delightful experience, not knowing what she was eating until it hit her tongue. She recognised the foods as she tasted them, of course, but... she couldn't remember any of them tasting quite  _this_ good when she'd eaten them before.

Did Kyouya-kun have access to better chefs? It was possible, and certainly a  _logical_ explanation for why the food tasted so good. A part of her wondered if the anticipation, the not knowing, heightened the intensity of all the flavours, making the food taste that much better. It was  _also_ a possibility. She knew that there were specialised restaurants that served their food in the dark so that the diners weren't distracted from their sense of taste by any of the other senses.

But... another part of her couldn't help but suggest that it tasted better because it was  _Fujioka-kun_ who was the one feeding her so carefully.

“ _Bite down_ ,” he said, softly, and Taka opened her mouth to accept the treat she could feel lightly brushing her lips, then carefully closed her teeth around it.

Her tongue told her that it was thin shell of chocolate around a soft,  _delicious_ , centre. Her teeth told her that there was something  _else_ in her mouth as well... confirmed when she closed her lips around it. The taste, when she licked at it around the chocolate, was unfamiliar, not like any of the foods she'd had before, utterly unrecognisable, and she'd been able to place everything that had come before. It was still pleasant though. Then, just as it started to pull back from her investigating tongue, she figured it out.

_A finger_ ! Fujioka-kun had fed her with his bare hand and she'd been licking one of his digits!

She opened her eyes quickly, a blush on her face and an apology ready to be given... only to see Fujioka-kun smiling a little, a hint of a blush on  _his_ cheeks as well, as he ate the other half of the chocolate.

Taka swallowed, the confection that had melted in her mouth vanishing away in her nervous motion as her blush darkened slightly.

“I'm a little sad that there was no sushi,” Fujioka-kun said, “but with dancing so close together, I suppose I can understand why. Besides, all the food that _is_ here was delicious,” he continued with a smile. “Especially the chocolate.”

“Aa,” Taka agreed softly, and desperately willed her blushing to subside. In all her years, no one had made her blush before. Not ever! Not even the health class teacher when he was talking to them about the anatomy of the genders! Yet Fujioka-kun did it so easily... it really was _terribly_ confusing.

“Kyaa!” exclaimed a group of girls that, until that very moment, Taka hadn't been aware was watching them.

“Ne, ne, Mori-sempai, you're the 'wild type', but you have a softer side too!” cheered one of the girls. Taka recognised her as one of Mitsukuni's regulars, Sononomi Yuiko. “That's so wonderful!”

This, Taka knew how to deal with. She got a lot of comments like that after doing something for Mitsukuni. It was normal, regular, and helped her to banish her traitorous blushing.

“Aa,” she answered, and that was enough to set them all into happy raptures of unfathomable fantasies. Then she stood, and held out a hand to one of the quieter girls – a regular customer of her own – and escorted her to the dance floor.

With a mental sigh, Taka started to lead. One day, she wanted someone to be the lead for  _her_ , and – Taka glanced over to see Fujioka-kun waltzing elegantly with one of  _his_ regulars – she kind of wanted it to be him. Even if he was shorter than her, that wouldn't matter. At just a little over six feet tall, most people  _were_ shorter than her.

Still, she wanted to be led in a dance one day, rather than have to lead it.

Before long, the doors were opened and the outside lights brought up. The most recently transplanted sakura trees were just coming into full bloom. It was time for the last dance of the evening, and then one of the 'princesses' would get a peck on the cheek from Tamaki.

Taka frowned to herself. She'd danced for about half an hour before sitting down with Fujioka-kun, and it had only been three dances since then. Had so much time really escaped her notice as she sat there with her eyes closed and let herself be fed?

It must have. That was actually a little disturbing.

Kasugasaki-san, the girl who changed her 'favourite' regularly was awarded a the promised kiss to her cheek from Tamaki, though she didn't let go of the hand of her fiancé even as she received it with a smile. And that was the end of the night.

Jun-chan and Misa-chan continued to take pictures of the Hosts as they said their own farewells for the evening after all their guests were gone, and a few more as they climbed into their limousines – not that Fujioka-kun climbed into a limousine. He'd be getting a ride with the two university students.

Taka sighed to herself in the back of her own limousine. She was glad that the dance party had been arranged on the  _last_ day of the school week. She wasn't sure she'd have been able to pay attention properly if she'd been sent off to class after a confusing evening like the one she'd just had.

~oOo~

The latest transplants of sakura trees were in full bloom – they got switched out  _regularly_ by the grounds staff to keep up the image of sakura blossoms flowering at the school all year round – and their esteemed 'king' had decided that they would take the club outdoors, since the weather was pleasant, and enjoy the sakura blossoms with their customers.

If they happened to be in costume for the occasion... well, Jun-chan was already there taking pictures as the club operated, and Misa-chan would be along later to take arranged shots in a lower light.

The two seniors and Haruhi-kun were in traditional kimono and offering a (sort of) traditional tea ceremony, while the other four were in smart waiter-type uniforms and serving tea in fine British teacups.

As well as tea and snacks, Kyouya was offering glossy-print 'photo collection' books of each of the hosts for sale. The girls couldn't part with their money fast enough. In an abstract way, it was amusing, but at the same time... those were pictures of  _them_ being sold to these girls who they  _knew_ entertained all  _sorts_ of strange fantasies about them. That made it a little less amusing.

Finally, the last of the customers left – with their full set of photo collections – and Misa-chan arrived. Jun-chan continued to snap candid shots surreptitiously while Misa-chan set up a couple of different areas for poses, but otherwise, the Hosts had a few moments to themselves.

“Ne, Haruhi,” the twins called, and abruptly wrapped up their fellow freshman in their arms. “Have you chosen your electives for the coming semester yet?”

“How about French Conversation?” Kaoru suggested with a smile.

“We should just take the same courses,” Hikaru agreed. “Since, you know...”

“We're in the same class,” the twins finished together.

“Hmm, but I wouldn't have much use for French Conversation with the career path I want,” Haruhi countered thoughtfully, not at all worried about the way his personal space had been invaded. He was perfectly aware of the way Jun-chan was clicking away with his camera. It would be good for the next photo collection.

“Oh?” the twins chorused. “What's that?”

“I plan to go into law,” Haruhi answered easily. It wasn't a secret after all.

“Ah!” Hani cheered as he pounced on the trio, only grabbing hold of Haruhi and spinning the younger boy around like a top, forcing the twins to back away. “Haru-kun! Ne, ne, why are you going into law, Haru-kun?”

“My mother was a lawyer,” Haruhi answered. “I want to follow in her footsteps. That's why I came to Ouran in the first place.”

“Your mother was a student here?” Hani asked, blinking his big brown eyes.

Haruhi shook his head. “No, she sought her scholarship at Saint Lobelia Girls' Academy. However convincing an okama I can be though, I wouldn't do well there,” he explained with a smile.

“You'd be found out,” Kyouya said with a nod.

“Iie,” Haruhi answered, still smiling as he shook his head. “I wouldn't be found out. I wouldn't do well at Lobelia because of the Zuka Club.”

“Haruhi-kun is a _very_ convincing okama,” Jun-chan sighed in wistful jealousy, cutting off any questions about the mysterious 'Zuka Club' that Haruhi had mentioned. “Even in boys clothes with no make-up, he gets mistaken for a girl.”

Haruhi pouted at the comment, and Tamaki-sempai blushed a little.

“How would you get past the physical examinations?” Kyouya asked curiously.

“I'd have a cold that day, and since I'd have to get a doctor's note for the school, I'd ask him to do my physical and forward it to them, leaving out the gender,” Haruhi answered simply.

“You thought about this,” the twins said, slightly unhappy frowns on their faces.

Haruhi chuckled. “Well, I'm already learning to be a professional okama like my father, and I want to be a lawyer like my mother also. It would have been a chance for me to pursue both, so I discussed the options that I had with my father,” he explained with a shrug. “We both agreed that Ouran was the better school though, and so here I am.”

“And we're glad to have you with us, Haruhi-kun,” Tamaki said with a firm nod.

“Oh, that reminds me, _our_ physical examination is in two days,” Kyouya said. “Jun-chan, Misa-chan, do you think you could -?”

“Sorry Kyouya-san,” Misa-chan answered, genuinely despondent. “Today is the last day we'll have time for a _week_. We've got a big presentation coming up. Oh, I'm set up now. Who's first?”

“Me, me!” Hani cheered and bounced over.

“Then we'll have to set up something,” Kyouya said easily. “A 'playing doctor' sort of photo shoot, but in our uniforms rather than in cosplay...” he speculated.

Jun-chan nodded in agreement. “We have a nurse costume that fits Haruhi-kun,” he offered. “But as Misa-chan said, we have a busy week ahead of us.”

“It will allow me time to acquire a few props from one of my family's hospitals for the photo shoot,” Kyouya said, nodding in agreement to the plan.

“That nurse's costume is two years old,” Haruhi interjected, only a little unhappily. “And it doesn't have the body in the fabric needed to withstand being stretched. I've grown since you had me wear it last, Jun-chan. I'd need a wasp-waist corset to wear it now without breaking the seams, and you still wouldn't be able to take any pictures from behind.”

“Ne, Haruhi-kun,” Tamaki asked hesitantly, “you're not... just trying to fool _us_ , are you?” he questioned. “Saying you're an okama when you're actually a girl?”

“No,” Haruhi answered flatly, unimpressed by the stupidity of the question.

“Tono, that's a stupid question,” the twins informed him. “We've seen Haruhi without a shirt after all,” they reminded him.

“Oh, right...”

“But there _are_ clever shirts out there that a woman can wear to look like a topless man,” Jun-chan offered. “Provided she has a lot of money and small breasts.”

“Takashi!” Hani called. “Need you in pictures with me now!”

The tall senior hurried to answer the call of the shorter one. This talk of physical examinations only serving to remind that this would be the  _last_ time that the tallest member of the Host Club would be taking them in a private room. That was, oddly enough, a little intimidating.

~oOo~

They were in kimono again, but all of them instead of just a few, not as traditional, and inside this time. Screens had been set up to provide privacy, creating little intimate corners for the Hosts to share with their guests. They'd stuck with no costumes, just entertaining their guests in the normal school uniform, for the past few weeks. The only time they'd been even vaguely in costume since the 'sakura viewing feast' was when they'd had their 'playing doctor' photo shoot with Jun-chan and Misa-chan – who were currently hovering around the club room with their cameras, not making a sound except for the clicking.

They'd paired off for that shoot in a fairly standard way: the two seniors together, the two juniors together, and the freshmen twins together... but that had left Fujioka-kun as a sort of spare, and it was decided that, ultimately, they didn't want a 'nurse' character in the shots except for an attempt at clinical stuff like measuring their height. Fujioka-kun had, essentially, been as much of a prop as the stethoscopes and the latex gloves.

Tamaki had blushed a _lot_ while he was 'playing doctor' with Kyouya in front of the camera. Not the way Kaoru had – the put on, blushing, “we're in front of a camera Hikaru” act of shyness. He'd _genuinely_ blushed, simply at Kyouya's actions.

Not that anything inappropriate happened. They _were_ in front of the camera, after all. Shirts were discarded at the discretion of each Host, but trousers stayed on. Even if fastenings were fiddled with. But that was for the younger two pairs. Between Taka and Mitsukuni, it had been much more innocent. After all, Mitsukuni's character was much more innocent.

Taka was glad of it, as it meant that her shirt could also stay on.

But now they were in kimono and Tamaki, the twins, and Mitsukuni were entertaining the guests with tearful acts of deep emotion. Taka was glad it was her place to be stoic, even as she couldn't help but watch Fujioka-kun (in his feminine kimono) out of the corner of her eye as he had deep, moving conversations with his guests that brought the _girls_ to tears, even though they all kept smiles on their faces.

And Kyouya was quietly entertaining girls who asked if there was a new photo collection for sale with a serene, content sort of smile on his face. After all, there _was_ a new photo collection to sell to them. There was an _abundance_ of photos available to him thanks to Jun-chan and Misa-chan, and it was simply a matter of choosing a few and compiling them together artistically. He still had pictures from the tropical paradise shoot that he hadn't used yet, and there were _more_ that had been taken since then. Many, _many_ more.

Jun-chan and Misa-chan were also benefiting from being present during Club hours to take their pictures, as the customers got to meet the people who were taking pictures of the Hosts. The two university students handed out their cards and looked to be potentially employed as _professional_ photographers to the young and rich – and paid for their services, which was important for university students and 'struggling artists' everywhere.

Finally, the last of the guests for the day bid their (tearful) farewells, and the Hosts began to think of moving to the changing rooms to get out of their kimono while Jun-chan and Misa-chan took a few last pictures of them in their kimono and the settings of the private corners before packing up their things and heading for the door.

At which point everybody noticed a new, unfamiliar girl loitering in the door.

“The club is closed for the day,” Misa-chan told the girl, with a gentle smile, “but they're nice boys, so if you have something you want to say to them, then I'm sure they won't turn you away.”

“Go on in,” Jun-chan urged, and with a last wink from the okama, the photographers left the Hosts to entertain their new guest.

Tamaki was, of course, the first to agree with this sentiment, and happily made a move to woo the girl through the doors and into the club room, even if it was after hours. It was only just, and it was important to be particularly welcoming to first timers.

“Come, do not be afraid, princess. Welcome to the Ouran Host Club,” he said, offering her a rose and reaching out to catch her chin lightly.

She flinched back. “I...”

“I?” Tamaki repeated, trying to coax an answer from her.

“Iie!” the girl screamed, and slapped him away from herself. “Don't touch me, you phony!”

“Me... a phony?” Tamaki repeated, shocked, as he stumbled and held his face where he'd been slapped. It was quite red, and had been a _very_ forceful slap.

“Yes! You're a phony!” the girl declared furiously. “I cannot believe that you are the prince of this club! A prince character doesn't spread his love so easily!”

The rest of the club could only stare. The girl was on a role, and tearing Tamaki down with cutting efficiency until he actually fainted from the pain of her words.

But, without him standing in the way, Kyouya finally had a clear view of the girl – and was able to recognise her, sort of.

“Could you... be...” he started, as though he wasn't actually _sure_ of who he was faced with. An unusual situation to be sure.

“Kyouya-sama!” the girl cried out, and (using Tamaki's fallen form as a springboard) launched herself at him.

He was only saved from falling over by Taka and Fujioka-kun both standing near enough to catch his shoulders (since the girl had her arms around his waist), and helping hold him up. After all, having a girl launch her entire weight at you, with no warning at all, is not an easy thing to compensate for, especially in kimono.

“Go change,” Taka advised Kyouya once the boy was steady and the strange girl had released her hold about his waist.

Kyouya nodded and collected Tamaki as well to get him out of his costume at the same time.

“If you will please just wait a moment,” Fujioka-kun said to the girl, gently escorting her off to one side of the room. “The scenery needs to be taken down, and we're all ready to get out of our kimono. Would you like some tea and snacks to have while you wait?”

The girl nodded.

Fujioka-kun led her to a couch and fetched tea and a couple of cookies. He entertained her by asking her about where she learned to slap a boy so hard that he fell over – as Tamaki had done – until he was the only one who hadn't changed out of his kimono, at which point he excused himself and proceeded to be the _fastest_ to get changed, even though his was the most elaborate kimono apart from Tamaki's.

“I'm sorry,” he said when he rejoined them. “I completely forgot to ask who you were before. I'm Fujioka Haruhi, by the way.”

The girl nodded in acceptance. “I'm Kyouya-sama's fiancé,” she answered with a happy smile.

“Fiancé?” Hikaru asked.

“Kyouya-sempai's?” Kaoru added.

Both were confused.

“Hai!” the girl chirped.

Suddenly, Tamaki was away in the corner, brooding and clearly _very_ unhappy with that announcement. An argument could be made for hurt, upset, and even angry.

“My name is Houshakuji Renge. I will be transferring into Class 1A starting tomorrow,” she continued happily. “It was love at first sight,” Renge declared, stars in her eyes. “How he showed loving affection to flowers in the back yard that no one would look at, and how he gently reached out his hand to the injured kitten!”

“Who's this person?” the twins asked, incredulous.

“Are you sure you've got the right person?” Fujioka-kun agreed, though as politely as he could.

“Yes!” Houshakuji-san asserted fiercely. “My eyes cannot be wrong!” She turned, hands on her cheeks, and dreamily continued. “A person that is so nice to others and never asks anything in return, a person who loves solidarity, but is really a loner. From the love simulation game that makes your heart _throb_ , Ukidoki Memorial, Ichijo Miyabi-kun!” she declared, and pointed the finger at Kyouya triumphantly. “You look exactly like him!”

“Uki?” Fujioka-kun asked, his large eyes narrowed a little.

“Doki?” Mitsukuni said, confused.

“Otaku!” Tamaki announced, jumping up in fear from where he'd been brooding.

“She's an otaku!” Hikaru exclaimed, also frightened.

“This is the first time I've seen one!” Kaoru joined in, and clung tightly to his twin.

“Ah... She's the type that goes 'moe' over a character,” Kyouya said, figuring it out. “By focusing her moe character on me, she's fantasised to the extent of fiancé. This Miyabi-kun must by an eyeglasses character.”

“Wait, fantasised?” Tamaki asked, the whole club gathering around where Kyouya was sitting. “So, this thing about her being your fiancé is...”

“I don't recall ever confirming that,” Kyouya said plainly. “To begin with, today's the first time I've met her,” he stated, and crossed his arms, a little defensively, over his chest.

Tamaki sighed in relief, while the rest of the club rolled their eyes a little and wished he'd said so _sooner_. It would have saved them all from a grumpy king after all, even if Tamaki had only been pouting for a very little while.

“According to my report, Kyouya-sama, you manage every aspect of this club, right?” Houshakuji-san said, eyes shining as she perched suddenly next to the object of her affectionate delusions.

“That's right,” Mitsukuni interjected. “Kyou-chan is the boss.”

“The boss!” she nearly squealed with happiness. “That's so fitting for you! My dream has always been to be a mascot girl for a store,” she continued dreamily.

“We don't need one,” the twins said flatly. “We're a Host Club.”

“I have decided! I will become the manager for the Host Club!” she declared, clearly _not_ listening to a word that was said when it didn't fit into her own superimposed perception of how the world should be.

“Oy, Kyouya...” Tamaki called softly, a nearly depressed expression on his face and a tired sigh in his tone as he looked at his classmate. But for once, not an over-stated, dramatic sort... just genuine feeling quietly conveyed between the two of them. A good deal of that feeling looked to be exhaustion.

“She's the daughter of an important business partner of the Ootori family,” Kyouya answered, straightforward, but still more gently that he might have said if he were answering a query from any other Host Club member. “I ask you to be courteous to her,” he finished.

Tamaki sank down with an unhappy moan. “Hai,” he agreed, all the same.

“I look forward to working with all of you!” Houshakuji said said with a chirpy, happy smile. She was completely oblivious to all of the true reactions going on around her, clearly believing that they were all just as happy that she was there, as she was happy to be there.


	4. Chapter 4

Haruhi kept a careful eye on both the twins, and on Renge-chan during classes the next day, though there _were_ times when he wasn't in the same class as them. Still, Renge-chan seemed to be a dedicated enough student in class, and while the twins were cautious around her, they didn't _do_ anything in reaction to her presence there.

It wasn't until the girl joined them in the third music room that it happened.

“Not good enough!” she snapped at them all angrily, completely out of the blue, and proceeded to rail against the Hosts all being too one-dimensional to be able to truly capture the hearts of girls for any length of time, how she would _not_ see any shop of “Kyouya-sama's” fail, and then started assigning them seemingly random attributes.

Except for Kyouya-sempai, who she claimed was perfect and didn't need to change at all. Then again, she was still looking at him through the rose-coloured glasses of delusion, and didn't know a thing about him (or any of the other Hosts, really) at all.

Frankly though, they couldn't really act out any of Renge-chan's fantasies while hosting. Not that she particularly cared. She'd called in a film crew before most of them even knew what was going on, and was handing out scripts that she either must have written in class, or written while waiting for the film crew she'd called for to arrive.

Haruhi was putting his money on the latter since, as he looked over the script, he couldn't help but think it was, really, very weak. It would make for half an hour of film at the most. At _the_ most, and _including_ credits. Half an hour was a TV episode, not a movie. Jun-chan and Misa-chan were flitting around surreptitiously as well though, taking 'behind-the-scenes' pictures as they sat in their canvas chairs and talked about the lousy script they'd been handed or tried to dry off between their shots in the 'rain'.

Even professional crews used a hose held by a man standing in a high place for that special effect it seemed.

Hani-sempai was having a hard time with his role – he'd been cast as a bully, and had to bully Haruhi specifically. It just... didn't mesh with the diminutive senior's personality. He ran crying, sobbing apologies, into Haruhi's arms before he could finish the whole scene. They were friends after all, having had several chances to talk between guests at the sakura-viewing feast and while waiting for their turn in front of Jun-chan and Misa-chan's cameras.

Haruhi had, in fact, won Hani-sempai's loyalty and friendship forever when he had supplied home-baked cookies to the 'playing doctor' photo shoot, and subsequently provided the recipe he'd used so that the Haninozuka chefs could make the cookies for him any time he liked. They'd already been pretty good friends just based on their quiet conversations during the photo shoots, the cookies made it a done deal.

In their conversations, it came up that Hani-sempai was particularly happy that Haruhi paid just as much attention to his cousin as to him. Apparently, not many people did. Even for the movie, Renge-chan had given Morinozuka-sempai a very _small_ role, hardly any lines, and nearly no screen-time.

Haruhi couldn't help but think that was a waste, before he was distracted from his thoughts by conversation.

“Why is Kaoru the 'seme' in this script?” Hikaru complained, unhappily looking over the script again.

“Yeah,” Kaoru agreed with a huff. Their scenes had been shot first, and it was over now, but they were still in the basketball uniforms, and complaining about the script.

“What, you've _never_ experimented with changing things up?” Haruhi asked them with a raised eyebrow as he joined them, a towel over his shoulders from his own scene in the rain with Hani-sempai and Morinozuka-sempai.

“Eh?!” the twins asked, a little confused.

He couldn't help but chuckle at their surprised looks. He wasn't totally naïve after all, and had a lot of experience in such things from the okama bar. “Don't worry about it. It's just a case of Renge-chan not being able to tell you apart well enough to get that detail right,” he advised.

The twins sighed, shrugged, and let it go.

“Haruhi-kun!” Renge-chan called some five minutes later. Long enough for Haruhi to dry his hair, _mostly_ dry his uniform, and become caught up in a conversation with Tamaki-sempai. “It's your turn! Over here please!”

“Hai!” Haruhi answered. Anything to get away from a Tamaki-sempai who was _enjoying_ the idea of being _tragic_.

Along with Renge-chan, a couple of older male students were waiting for him.

“I've asked these gentlemen for a special appearance,” Renge-chan said happily.

“Appearance?” asked one.

“What are you talking about?” the second asked.

“For the climax, we definitely need villains,” Renge-chan said, a fist clenched in enthusiasm.

The two older boys looked thoroughly _shocked_ by this revelation.

Haruhi didn't blame them, especially when Renge-chan started going on about 'disunited club members becoming one to fight evil'. When she said that the two boys she'd somehow roped into this were sons of Japanese mafia members – and therefore _perfect_ to play the role of villains – well, Haruhi didn't blame them for getting upset either.

“What are you talking about?” demanded the first.

“Who our parents are has nothing to do with us!” the second joined in. Both on the verge of tears.

Really, what Renge-chan was doing was tantamount to bullying, but she couldn't see that for the stars in her eyes.

“Come on, this way!” Renge-chan said happily, completely ignoring them even as she grabbed the arm of one and started tugging him towards the set.

“Saying whatever you want, don't get so cocky!” the boy objected as he pulled free from her grip and pushed her away from himself. Incidentally, towards some junk left over from setting up the sets.

“Watch out!” he called. Haruhi moved quickly to catch the annoying girl. After all, just because she was annoying was no reason for her to be hurt. He succeeded in preventing harm to the girl, but was himself slammed rather solidly into some uncompromising metal poles. “Ouch,” he grunted, and then winced as one of his contacts slipped. Quickly, he pulled them both out, put them in their container, and switched for his glasses. He couldn't fix them without a mirror.

“Haruhi-kun?” Renge-chan cried, surprised, relieved, and concerned all at once that he'd gotten hurt saving her. “Are you alright?”

“Renge-chan, you owe these boys an apology,” Haruhi scolded as he carefully stepped away from the stuff he'd crashed into, conscious of where he'd probably be bruised later. “You can't continue to classify people the way you've been doing, putting people into categories and expecting them to fit. If you keep doing that, you'll miss out on what's really important.”

“I'm not sure what you're trying to say...” Renge said, confused.

Haruhi sighed and turned to the other two boys. “I am sincerely sorry that you got dragged into this,” he told them, bowing slightly, unaware of the other members of the Host Club appearing around the corner, having come running when they heard the crash.

Still, congregated there, they remained silent – but were in full view of the two boys Renge-chan had tried to get to play villains.

“Eh, it's... alright, Fujioka-san,” the first one said, and gave an uncomfortable shrug.

“Not your fault,” the second agreed. “We're going to leave now though, if that's alright.”

Haruhi nodded, not the least bit surprised that two students he'd never met knew who he was. As Kyouya-sempai had put it the first time he'd wandered into the Host Club, he was somewhat famous for having managed to _get_ the scholarship. Lots of people he didn't know in the school knew who he was – a state made more prevalent by his being a Host.

“Haruhi-kun...” Renge-chan said softly, still confused.

Haruhi sighed, and turned fully to her, finally spotting the other members of the Host Club. An idea... “Renge-chan, what do you actually _know_ about Kyouya-sempai?” he asked gently.

“He's kind and -”  
“No,” Haruhi cut her off. “You're thinking of the character in your game. What do you know of _Kyouya-sempai_?” he asked firmly, but still kindly, as he pointed over her shoulder to where the teen in question (and the rest of the club) stood.

Renge-chan turned sharply, eyes wide and seeking out the object of her affections. Those eyes grew wider when she saw him looking at her so coldly.

“You planned on having a scene of the members of the Host Club being violent,” he said coolly. “I am sorry to say, but I cannot permit any such thing to be recorded. To cause us trouble like this is extremely unpleasant.”

“Why?” Renge-chan said softly, as tears rolled down her face. “Kyouya-sama would have said 'do not worry about it' and gently caressed my head!” she nearly screamed. “A person so full of affectionate love like you... why?” she asked, now nearly broken, eyes shut in an effort to stem the tears.

“Because that's not who Kyouya is,” Tamaki answered easily, a slight smile on his face.

Renge-chan gasped, as though pained, and her eyes snapped open just a bare moment, and took in the whole Host Club – but particularly Kyouya-sempai – before falling to her knees and letting herself cry.

“That's alright though, isn't it?” Haruhi asked the girl gently, and crouched down to look her in the eye when she finally looked up. “If someone is different to how you imagined, then you should try and look at how that person really _is_ , rather than how you imagined them to be. It's fun, getting to know people properly, gradually, and learning all about them.”

Renge-chan just bowed her head, tears still in her eyes.

Haruhi stood, gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze (no way was he going to give her a pat on the head after her earlier comment), and went to the other Host Club members.

“Cut,” Kyouya softly instructed the film crew.

Haruhi chuckled to himself. The whole thing, caught on film. The customers would _love_ it.

“What did I miss on _this_ side of the building while I was keeping Renge-chan out of the way?” Haruhi asked as he walked back with the rest of the Hosts.

“We may have made a _few_ alterations to the script,” Kyouya-sempai allowed with a smirk.

~oOo~

Taka watched as new scenes were performed by Tamaki and Kyouya, and performed in another herself with Mitsukuni – where again, she didn't have many lines. But that was alright. She didn't mind that. Years of not saying much so that no one would notice that she wasn't as much of a bass as she pretended to be had taught her the value of silences.

It was only recently, with Fujioka-kun wanting to talk _with_ her, rather than simply _at_ her, that she was beginning to get a feel for the enjoyment that could be had in conversation. She still wasn't totally used to it though, so, for now, fewer lines was alright with her. She just had to keep her secret until graduation.

When the filming was done, Kyouya supervised the editing before having the completed movie produced for sale to the clients. Taka would not admit it – and she knew that Kyouya would keep quiet about it – but she had also bought one of the copies. In years to come, the acting would be something to laugh at while she reminisced of the fun times she had in the Host Club. For now... for now she had _no_ idea why she'd bought it if not for those reasons, but her heart thumped a little faster every time she saw Fujioka-kun's face, larger than life, on her television screen in her bedroom.

When the girls in the club started to exclaim about having bought the video, and which parts were their favourites, Taka noted with a sort of detached sadness that not _once_ was her name uttered by the girls. Not once. Not even from her own customers.

“The rain scene was the best!”

“The prince of loneliness!”

“Comforted by Kyouya-sama!”

“Hikaru-sama and Kaoru-sama's relationship was so good!”

“I want to see Hani-kun's fiendish nature again!”

“Haruhi-kun's agonising look...”

Alright, so she agreed with that last sentiment, but...

A hand wrapped around her arm gently, and Taka looked down... To find Fujioka-kun standing there.

“I thought _you_ were wonderful,” he said softly.

Taka smiled, just a little, and did her best not to blush (she was even fairly sure she'd succeeded this time) at the softly spoken compliment. But did that mean...? Taka frowned a little as the thought occurred to her. Had Fujioka-kun _also_ bought one of the tapes? Or was he talking about when he'd been watching as the filming was done?

She was just about to ask when another voice interrupted – one of the girls actually talking _to them_ , rather than proclaiming raptures with the other girls _about_ them. “Good day,” she said.

“Oh? I thought you'd gone back to France?” Tamaki asked, speaking up first when they all turned enough to see the girl.

Houshijaku Renge-san.

“I noticed...” she started, and slowly raised her clasped hands from in front of her to rest her cheek on them dotingly as she had done when fantasising about Kyouya. “The gentleness that protected me with his body, the deep love that harshly scolds at times...” She stepped forward quickly and took hold of Fujioka-kun's hands. “This is what it means to look at someone and fall in love with him, right, Haruhi-kun?” she asked, eyes shining.

Taka felt that knot tie itself up around her heart again, the knot that had untied itself not long after meeting Fujioka-kun. Aware of it now, it felt more painful than it ever had before.

“Excuse me?” Fujioka-kun answered, and pulled his hands free of hers carefully. “Thank you,” he said, and firmly (but still gently) pushed her hands away from him.

The knot in Taka's chest undid again, and she released a breath she hadn't even noticed she had been holding.

“Oh,” Houshijaku-san said softly, and took a step back. “I'm sorry.”

Fujioka-kun only nodded silently, and then moved to fetch tea things for his guests.

Taka didn't understand her reactions to what had just happened. However many hours she would spend after this, nearly lost in thought, trying to figure it out, Taka had a feeling that she probably _wouldn't_ , either. She'd chosen a psychology course for one of her electives this semester in the hopes that it would help her understand what was going on. So far, it was very interesting... but not very helpful.

Well, not for the reason she'd elected to take it, anyway.

~oOo~

“It's the 'which one is Hikaru-kun' game!” the twins announced as they stood from their chairs, matching green hats on their heads to hide which way each of the twins had parted their hair – the only way most people really had for telling the two apart.

The girls who had designated them chirped, cheered and clapped happily.

“Well then, can you tell which one is Hikaru?” the twins asked together.

“Oh, that's so hard,” one girl answered, her tone more of admiration than complaint.

“You two are so identical!” another added happily.

“So far, no has been really able to tell who's who,” the twins declared with an air of pride.

“What a worthless game,” Haruhi offered as he walked past them with his books. He had a moment spare, and so was going to do some homework while he waited for his next guest to arrive.

“What?” the twins asked, put out. “Is there something you don't like about it?”

Haruhi shrugged. “I just don't see the point of it,” he answered.

“It really seems that Haruhi...” Hikaru started, and rested an elbow on Haruhi's shoulder as he came up beside him.

“... Does not understand the benefits of us, the twins, being in the Host Club,” Kaoru finished, hands on his hips as he stood on the other side of Haruhi to his twin.

“Listen,” Hikaru began, finger raised to make sure he was listened to – before he pulled Kaoru into an embrace as he talked. “Just the fact that we're handsome types and homo scores a lot of points, and while our act that swings between friendship and homo is favourable enough...”

“... In our case,” Kaoru picked up as he twined his fingers through Hikaru's hair, “we use the highest taboo of being twins as our biggest weapon.”

“On top of that,” Hikaru continued as he and Kaoru separated and moved to stand either side of a chair occupied by one of their customers, each resting an arm on the back of the chair while Hikaru bent down to gently catch the girl under her chin with his fingers. “This set up of also being loved simultaneously by these two tightly bonded twins...”

“... Is a maiden's ultimate romance,” Kaoru finished, gently slipping his own hand in to take the girl's chin from his twin and direct her attention to him instead. “Right?” he asked softly.

“Eh... eh... me?” the girl asked, hesitantly. “I can't take it any more!” she exclaimed happily as a blush overtook her face and she very nearly swooned. The girls she was sharing a table with, who had designated the twins at the same time as her, squealed happily.

The twins gave a “Hm!” of pride as they turned back to Haruhi.

Before Haruhi could respond though, Tamaki-sempai charged up with a laptop in his hands, yelling at the twins.

“I said you could be in charge of the club's website on the condition that you took it seriously!” he scolded them furiously.

“We are taking it seriously,” Hikaru answered with calm aloofness.

“We were up until the early hours yesterday morning finishing it,” Kaoru added.

“Then what is this?!” Tamaki-sempai demanded harshly, opening the laptop to reveal the Host Club homepage and hitting the keyboard furiously.

The whole page was just a picture of Haruhi. One that had been taken at the 'playing doctor' photo shoot before Haruhi was given a corset and the two-year-old nurse uniform. It was a back-view of him looking over his shoulder and smiling at the camera. The background had been modified to be full of red roses though, with a frame of _more_ red roses in front.

Haruhi jerked in surprise himself at the sight of it.

“Haru-kun, you're so cool!” Hani-sempai noted, having been lifted by Morinozuka-sempai so that he could see the screen more easily as the customers all gathered around to admire the picture.

It was one that hadn't been released in the photo collections yet after all, and they all wanted to see.

The girls around the computer were all rather enamoured with the picture, and exclaiming over how handsome Haruhi was. This allowed for a few of the Hosts to have a conversation while they didn't have to worry about neglecting their guests, just for a little while.

“Why?!” Tamaki-sempai demanded. “Why is _Haruhi_ the picture for the homepage?!”

“I'd like to know that as well,” Haruhi interjected. “ _Without my permission_. I don't mind Kyouya-sempai selling the photo collections, since we actually talked about that when I brought Misa-chan and Jun-chan in to take the photos. But what do you think I am that you can just get away with this?” he demanded.

The twins gave an amused hum together, smirks on their faces. “That's obvious,” they answered together. “You're our toy.”

“And so, to enjoy this boring life as much as possible...” Hikaru explained.

“...You need an exciting toy,” Kaoru finished.

“I am not a toy!” Haruhi informed them sternly.

Not that either of them cared.

“Toy...” a voice called hauntingly, drawing their attention to a very different looking door where a dark figure was only just peering out. “Toy... toy... if you like toys,” the figure said, “then come to my club: the Black Magic Club. The world black magic item market... is now being held,” he declared.

Haruhi sighed softly and headed to his table. He would have guests arriving shortly still, whatever the other Hosts got up to, and he _did_ still want to get some homework done before they arrived. It was a bonus, to Haruhi's thinking, that the guest he was due to have next was very homework focused – it was something they'd be able to talk about while they sat together. A sort of private study session. He may end up tutoring the girl who had designated him for the length of that shift, but that was still helpful to him as well.

He didn't bother to listen to what else was going on with the twins and the mysterious figure at the door. He'd asked Kyouya later who that actually _was_.

“Ne, Haruhi!” the twins called not even two minutes later. “We've got a favour to ask.”

“What?” he answered, not looking up from his text book.

“On our next holiday,” Hikaru started.

“Can we visit your home?” Kaoru finished.

“No,” Haruhi answered flatly, not even caring what their reason for asking was.

“No matter what?” the two of them asked, surprised.

“No is no,” he said simply, and waved them off without looking up as he tapped his mechanical pencil to his note book. “Besides, it's rude to invite yourself to someone else's house.”

“Not even if we beg?” they pressed.

“No,” Haruhi affirmed.

“Actually,” Tamaki-sempai said, trying to be as charismatic as possible, “I was thinking that I should greet your parents.”  
“Definitely not,” Haruhi answered him sharply, writing out the working for a mathematical equation.

“Then how about this,” they suggested, and grabbed Haruhi's arms to spin him around at the same time as they grabbed the hats they used in their game. “If you guess wrong at the 'which one is Hikaru-kun' game, then we're going to visit your house as a penalty.”

Haruhi sighed, frustrated, but gestured for them to go ahead and put the hats on for their game.

The two switched places a few times, hats on, and finally announced “Okay!” as they stopped, side by side. “Which one is Hikaru-kun?”

“This one's Kaoru-san,” Haruhi said, pointing to the one on his left, “and this one's Hikaru-san,” he finished, pointing to the twin on his right.

“Bzzt!” the twins proclaimed happily. “You're wrong!”

“I'm not wrong,” Haruhi countered with a slight smirk. “And you're not coming to visit my house,” he said firmly as he returned to his table.

“Ne, ne, Haruhi-kun,” one of the girls called softly – a regular customer of the twins. “How can you be sure you were right? I really can't tell who's who after they hide the way they part their hair to the left or to the right.”

“How were you able to tell?” another girl – also a regular customer of the twins – asked hopefully.

“If I were really wrong, they'd have taken their hats off to prove it,” Haruhi answered easily. “Also, I sit between them every day in class, so I've learned to tell them apart. Their characters are really very different, even if they look the same. Apart from that...”

“Apart from that?” the girls urged.

Haruhi chuckled. “Well, it's like a much easier version of the shell game really,” he answered.

“Ne, what's the shell game, Haruhi-kun?” the girls all asked.

“It's a children's game, and sometimes played for money. If it is, then the child running the shell game will put down a coin, and any child who wants to try and win that money puts down a coin of the same value. If one child wins, he or she gets to keep both coins, and so has a little bit more pocket money to spend,” Haruhi explained with a smile.

He judiciously decided to leave out the part of the explanation where con-men on the street used the game to swindle people of their money. These rich young ladies most likely wouldn't ever come into contact with such unscrupulous men.

“How about I show you all tomorrow?” he suggested to them. “I'd need a few things to set the game up before I can show you, so we can't play it today,” he pointed out with an easy smile.

The girls all nodded. “Tomorrow, Haruhi-kun!” they all promised.

“What will you need for this 'shell game', Fujioka-kun?” Kyouya-sempai asked softly, taking the place of the guests as they left.

“I have everything I'll need for the game at home, but if you and Tamaki-sempai decide that you'll run a casino theme to go with the one little betting game I'll be teaching our guests...” Haruhi suggested with a smirk.

Kyouya-sempai smirked silently back, giving no answer at all.

“I always wear a haori when I run a shell game,” Haruhi stated with an easy shrug.

“It will be discussed in a meeting after the guests have left,” Kyouya-sempai said firmly. “Your next guest is here.”

“Running a casino will also provide a lot of games to the twins, who seem to be bored right now,” Haruhi added softly before he turned to welcome his guest with a smile.


	5. Chapter 5

As well as Fujioka-kun's shell game, Kyouya organised for the club to have a roulette table which the twins operated together, a Blackjack table which Tamaki operated with surprising skill, and mahjong tiles – made especially cute – for Taka and Mitsukuni to play games with their guests. Kyouya himself ran the 'bank', where the guests could cash in their playing chips (which they had to buy) for prizes – things like large posters of the Hosts, new photo books – as well as the 'bar', where drinks and snacks could be collected before returning to the game tables.

The costumes for this 'event' were very much the same as they had been at the sakura viewing feast – uniforms for the juniors and the twins, hakama, kimono and haori for the seniors and Fujioka-kun.

Taka was occasionally released from playing mahjong though, as three of Mitsukuni's guests would want to play with her cousin all at the same time, and mahjong was a four player game... though it was _possible_ to play with only three, and _could_ be stretched to five if so desired... Still, keeping it to a four-player game was easier, and more in-keeping with the traditions of the game. Though, the whole thing was somewhat abridged, as Mitsukuni was only playing one round with each shift of guests, rather than a full sixteen rounds.

Taka took the times when she was released from the mahjong game to fetch drinks for the other Hosts, and particularly to watch Fujioka-kun as he demonstrated the shell game for his guests.

“Would you like to play, Morinozuka-sempai?” Fujioka-kun asked the third time she stopped by his table.

Taka glanced around at the girls that were watching, each one clearly anticipating her answer. She looked down at the table with the five identical, terracotta-ceramic 'shells'. She looked up to Fujioka-kun who was holding up the small red rubber ball that he would hide under one of those shells. Finally, Taka looked at the chair settled on the opposite side of the table to Fujioka-kun, which was presently empty.

With a silent nod, she sat down.

Much to the joy of the girls gathered around the table.

Fujioka-kun smiled happily as well, and stacked two of the shells off to the side. “We'll start with three, then four next game, and then five,” he said, and set the rubber ball down under the central shell.

It went to the left, and then the two empty shells switched, and then the shell covering the ball was brought back to the middle, before being exchanged out to the right side, then Fujioka-kun did a clever move that sent the shell with the ball underneath it straight to the other side again – at which point he removed his hands from the shells and clapped once.

“Where is the ball?” he asked.

Taka reached out to place a finger on the correct shell.

“Who will bet that Morinozuka-sempai has it right?” he asked. “Since he doesn't have any chips of his own to bet.”

“I will!” a girl said eagerly, stepping up.

Fujioka-kun smiled, nodded, and lifted the shell to prove that she'd gotten it right. He paid winnings to girl, then he picked up a fourth shell to add to the game.

The ball started on the left end, and was switched with the one beside it, travelling right until it reached the other end, with Fujioka-kun switching the other shells around as well for distraction, his hands moving a little faster than they had when there were just three shells, until he lifted his hands from the shells, clapped them once, and asked Taka where the ball was this time.

Taka set a long finger on the right end shell, and (after another girl betting that he'd gotten it right) nodded in satisfaction when Fujioka-kun lifted it to reveal the ball beneath.

“Ah, bravo Mori-sempai!” the girls cheered.

“I always get caught at that level,” one of the girls admitted.

Another girl giggled. “You get distracted from the shells by Haruhi-kun's lovely hands,” she teased fondly as she took her winnings from Fujioka-kun. “Oh, but _I_ always get caught on the _next_ level,” she added with a sigh.

There was a general murmur of agreement around the table. The girls could always win the first, and often the second level of the game, but none of them had won the final level yet.

Fujioka-kun smiled, and set the fifth shell down.

This time, his hands moved _much_ faster, and sometimes he would lift the shells to change which one had the ball underneath it before switching it around again. Finally, Fujioka-kun took his hands away from the shells and clapped them once, signifying that he was done shuffling them.

“Where is the ball _this_ time, Morinozuka-sempai?” Fujioka-kun asked.

Taka raised a hand, hesitated – and less for show than she would have liked it to be – then finally set the tip of her finger on the central shell.

“Oh? You seem less sure this time, Morinozuka-sempai,” Fujioka-kun commented. “Well, will any of you lovely ladies wager on Morinozuka-sempai being right?”

There were quiet hums among the crowd of girls, none of them sure either.

Fujioka-kun sighed. “No? Well, then if Morinozuka-sempai is right, I will have to owe a penalty. But what should it be?” he asked his audience.

“A kiss!” one of the girls blurted out, only to slap her hand over her mouth as she blushed tomato red at her boldness.

Fujioka-kun smiled. “A fine penalty,” he agreed with a nod, and turned back to Taka. “If you are right, I will give you a kiss,” he said. “Do you wish to change your guess?”

Taka blushed a little, but shook her head, and tapped the central shell again.

Fujioka-kun reached for the shell and, once Taka's finger was out of the way, slowly lifted it.

There, right there, was the little red ball, revealed.

“The first person to win the third level of the game today,” Fujioka-kun declared with a serene smile on his face. “Morinozuka-sempai. I believe I owe you a kiss now, ne?”

Taka swallowed a little nervously, and knew that there was still a light blush staining her cheeks, but nodded all the same. It would be the first kiss she would have ever received, and she certainly hadn't ever _given_ one before.

“It's my first kiss,” Fujioka-kun confided, his words soft, but heard by every girl that was watching them now with bated breath.

Taka's blush darkened a little. “Mine also,” she admitted, just as softly.

Fujioka-kun's eyes grew a little wider in surprise, and then softened. He smiled kindly and rose from his chair slightly so that he could lean across the table – his hands planted on it to keep him steady. Slowly, he leant in closer and closer.

Taka could feel his breath on her face, could smell the tea he had been drinking on it, and watched as Fujioka-kun tilted his head to the side just a bit – then she didn't see anything as her eyes slipped closed all on their own as a nose brushed against the side of her nose, and two soft lips brushed against her lips and kissed her. It was tender, chaste, warm and wonderful... and then through her closed eyelids a flash of light interrupted, and Fujioka-kun drew back slowly.

“Kyaaaaaa!” the girl squealed happily, and there were a few thumps as some of them even fainted.

Taka opened her eyes and looked around for the source of the flash. It was Jun-chan. The two photography students _had_ arrived while the 'casino' was being set up. She had forgotten about them.

“Haruhi-kun, are you gay?” one of the girls stepped up to ask, looking somewhere between hopeful and tearful.

“Not as such,” Fujioka-kun answered with a smile and a shake of his head. “Men, women, looks... it all makes no difference to me,” he explained gently, much as he had to Kaoru the day he joined the Host Club. “All that you need for a romantic relationship to work is compatibility between two people. The rest... if you're really in love, then it doesn't matter, ne?”

“Haruhi-kun, that's so wonderful!” the girls cheered shrilly.

“I should go back to Mitsukuni,” Taka said by way of excusing herself, and stood from the chair.

Fujioka-kun looked up sharply, surprise on his features for a moment before it faded. “Ah, alright Mori-sempai,” he answered, a slightly sad look in his eyes, but he nodded in acceptance all the same.

Taka gave a nod and walked away from the shells game table. That was the first time Fujioka-kun had used the shortened version of her name that everybody else in the club used, barring Mitsukuni who called her by her first name. She wondered if she could ask him to use her given name, and if she should use _his_ as everybody else in the club did... after all, even if it was just a penalty for his losing the game, Fujioka-kun _had_ kissed her.

“Jun-chan, I want a copy of that picture,” she heard Fujioka-kun say from behind her.

She nearly froze as Jun-chan assented to the request, and then very carefully _didn't hurry_ as she continued back to Mitsukuni and the mahjong table.

~oOo~

It was an Arabian Nights theme. Tamaki-sempai was the sultan of course, while the rest of them had various amounts of clothing on. The twins wore no shirts under their jackets. Mori-sempai and Hani-sempai were both swathed in layers of robes. Kyouya was in a slightly severe and reserved uniform, which Haruhi matched though in cream rather than black, and of course there were turbans _everywhere_. Jun-chan and Misa-chan had taken pictures (some of those pictures of the Hosts getting dressed) and already left when the door opened to admit...

“Eh? A kid?” Hikaru asked, surprised and unimpressed.

“And a boy,” Kaoru added, his tone bored.

“What's wrong, lost little one?” Tamaki-sempai asked. “What brings you here to my palace?”

The music room _had_ been done up to look like an Arabian palace too. Imported rugs, wall hangings, draperies, cushions... Haruhi wondered how Kyouya managed to afford the decorations and costumes for the themes sometimes.

“Are you the king here?” the boy asked.

Tamaki-sempai gasped softly in pleasure at the address.

“You're not?” the boy asked when he received no response.

“Approach,” Tamaki-sempai commanded. “What did you call me just now?” he asked once the boy was closer.

“King,” he answered.

“Oh, king!” Tamaki-sempai nearly swooned. “That's right, I'm this Host Club's _king_!” he cried happily, rising to his feet and twirling around, sending his robes all aflutter.

“Elementary school class 5-A,” the boy said, eyes shut, frown firmly in place, and hands fisted tightly at his sides. “Takaouji Shirou!” he yelled at them, eyes snapping open as he introduced himself fiercely. “I am here to ask the Host Club King to take me on as an apprentice!” he said firmly, and was pointing at Tamaki-sempai.

Tamaki-sempai just blushed in pleasure at the request.

Haruhi was the one to voice what the rest of the Hosts were thinking though: “Why?” he asked.

The one little question managed to snap Tamaki-sempai out of his flattered joy as well.

“Yeah, why does an elementary student want to be a Host?” Hani-sempai joined in. “Aren't you a bit young for that?”

“You're one to talk!” Shirou snapped back. “What grade are you in?!”

“Hani-sempai is the _oldest_ member of the Host Club,” the twins answered the boy, even as Hani-sempai flinched back from the yelling child to hide behind Mori-sempai.

“What? No way!”

“It's true,” Kyouya-sempai said simply. “But, Takaouji-san, you haven't answered Fujioka-kun.”

“I don't have much time left...” Shirou answered tensely, his voice soft. “I have to know how to please _her_...”

“A Host does what he does to please _many_ girls,” Tamaki-sempai said. “To delight _every_ customer who sits with him. For a girl you personally love, you _cannot_ approach her as a Host,” he informed the child firmly. “You can only approach her as a man, and only you can figure out how you can please the girl you care about so much.”

Shirou hung his head. “But... I'm running out of time...” he repeated.

“Then what are you doing here, rather than spending time with her?” Haruhi asked simply. It was familiar advice. Every girl with a fiancé that designated him, when they came to him to talk about problems they were having, he directed them to speak with their fiancé about what was troubling them. “Why are you telling _us_ how you feel, rather than _her_?”

Shirou's head snapped up, his eyes went wide as understanding dawned, and then he turned and ran out of the club room again.

Tamaki-sempai sighed a little sadly as he watched the kid leave. “Well... the idea of having an apprentice was attractive, but...” he said, and sighed again.

“It is something to think about,” Kyouya-sempai allowed. “If the Host Club is to continue running even after all the present members have graduated, we will need to keep an eye out for others to bring in to eventually take our places. Possibly, in a few years, Takaouji-san _could_ join the Host Club.”

“But right now, he'd only overlap with Hani-sempai as a shouta-type,” the twins said.

“Am I a nuisance already?” Hani-sempai asked, tears streaming down his face and eyes glassy.

Haruhi shook his head. “Of course not,” he said, and lay a comforting hand on the head of the smallest Host. “Shirou-san wouldn't have been a _loli_ -shouta anyway. He didn't strike me as being someone who is 'sweet', like you are, Hani-sempai.”

Hani-sempai visibly relaxed.

~oOo~

It was an off day for the Host Club. A day set aside for the Hosts to get on with their homework instead of dallying their time away with guests, or else to indulge in their own private leisure activities. Or, in Haruhi's case, house chores. He was planning on doing the laundry.

That plan seemed to be waylaid when the twins swooped in as he was leaving the Ouran campus and each caught one of his arms.

“Target captured!” they chorused gleefully, and a stretch limousine pulled up sharply in front of the trio.

A window rolled down to reveal Tamaki-sempai, with a garland of hibiscus flowers around his neck and a pair of sunglasses on his nose.

“Good, take him away,” Tamaki-sempai bid the twins calmly.

Haruhi, having plans of his own and having grown up in a neighbourhood where (despite being safe generally) being the son of an okama wasn't the _easiest_ thing in the world, jabbed his elbows as hard as he could into the twins that were holding him captive.

It was enough to loosen Hikaru's hold, even if Kaoru only clutched Haruhi's arm more tightly. With Hikaru more loosely attached, Haruhi was able to free himself from one twin and use the free arm to toss the _other_ through the open window of the limo at Tamaki-sempai.

“Kaoru!”

“Excuse me,” he said firmly, a frown on his face. “But I don't have time for whatever nonsense you've come up with today.”

“We're going to a theme park operated by my family's Ootori Group, the Tropical Aqua Garden,” Kyouya-sempai announced from behind Haruhi. “A health resort, for people who are stressed but cannot travel to relax for whatever reason. A bit of the tropics here in Japan. It is due to open next month, but today it is booked for the use of the Host Club.”

“Relaxation that is _vital_ for us, who work night and day to be as handsome as we are for our guests,” Tamaki-sempai answered fervently. “So, Haruhi-kun, you _must_ come, you see?”

“First of all, Tamaki-sempai, I do no such thing. Second, I do _not_ have the time for such an outing today as I have chores to do,” Haruhi said, a little harshly. “Nor do I care for obviously artificial sites and resorts. If you want to plan some Host Club outing, please let me know well in advance.”

“Told you Tama-chan,” Hani-sempai said as he bounced up to them. “Haru-kun doesn't have servants he can leave household chores to like we do, and remember, if he doesn't stay at the top of his class, his scholarship gets taken away!”

“Ah,” Mori-sempai agreed solemnly. “Haruhi, I'll give you a lift home, as I'm not going to the resort either.”

“Ah!” Haruhi said brightly, and blushed a little. Mori-sempai hadn't ever used his name before and... he liked the way the tall senior said it. “Thank you, Mori-sempai.”

“Taka...shi,” Mori-sempai said softly as they walked away from the rest of the Hosts and to where a different limousine was waiting. “Please call me Takashi.”

Haruhi's blush deepened a little. “Alright, Takashi-sempai,” he agreed. “Um... may I ask why you're not going to the resort?”

Takashi-sempai shrugged. “I'm tired,” he admitted. “It has been a long day, and I just want to sleep.”

Haruhi nodded in acceptance. “I know that feeling,” he answered with a slight smile.

“Haruhi...” Takashi-sempai called as Haruhi slid into the back of the limo.

“Hai?”

“Why... did you agree to kiss me as a penalty for losing the shell game?” Takashi-sempai asked, a confused frown creasing his forehead as he climbed in as well. “You also asked if I wanted to change my mind about which shell I'd chosen...”

Haruhi smiled. “I knew you'd chosen the right shell,” he said. “I was giving you a chance to back out, if you didn't want the penalty. As for why I kissed you...” Haruhi shrugged helplessly. “You fascinate me, Takashi-sempai,” he admitted. “You have since I met you. I bribed Kyouya-sempai with my baking for the few basic things that were 'general knowledge' to the rest of the school back in the first month.”

“You... bribed Kyouya for details about me?” Takashi-sempai asked, surprised. “With baked goods?”

Haruhi blushed and ducked his head. “Hai,” he said. There was really no point in denying what he'd already said, after all. “It's slow going, learning more about you, but it's always worth it.”

“Thank you, Haruhi,” Takashi-sempai said with a sincere smile, and lay one large hand over Haruhi's in a further show of gratitude. It was a small thing, wanting to know more about a person, but it seemed to mean a lot to Takashi-sempai. “Perhaps... I could answer any questions you have on the ride to your house?”

“Ah!” Haruhi said with a smile. “I'd really like that, thank you!”

The questioning was put off however, as the driver announced that they had arrived at the apartment complex where Haruhi lived.

Haruhi sighed, and his shoulders slumped a little. “Figures,” he muttered. “Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Takashi-sempai. I hope you sleep well.”

“You too,” the senior answered. “You're very cute, Haruhi. It would be a shame for you to have dark circles under your eyes.”

Haruhi blinked, smiled, then stretched up (even sitting, he was still shorter than Takashi-sempai), and gave a quick kiss on the cheek. When he pulled back, Takashi-sempai was blushing too.

“I-I'll see you tomorrow,” Takashi-sempai said, actually stuttering a little, which _really_ surprised Haruhi.

Haruhi nodded all the same, and let himself out, and as the limousine drove off, he proceeded to greet his landlady and apologise for causing a stir _with_ said fancy car.

~oOo~

Taka was less controlled when she was tired, more chatty and didn't try to suppress her reactions to things. She _also_ , despite what she had led Mitsukuni to believe, _did_ remember what she said and did while in that state. It was just that, generally, she was retrospectively embarrassed by what she had said and/or done, and so pretended it didn't happen. This, over time, led her cousin to believe that she simply didn't _remember_ the embarrassing things. After all, who – after doing something completely out of character – can simply take a quick nap, wake up, and then proceed to act as if nothing unusual had taken place? Why, only someone who didn't remember, of course!

No.

Taka remembered. She remembered with _perfect_ clarity that Haruhi was interested in her, had bribed Kyouya with baked goods (type unspecified) to get some details, and had kissed her _again_ in the back of her limousine after she had given him a lift back to his house.

And she had asked him to call her Takashi, and had herself called him Haruhi.

And now the Host Club had made plans to go to the beach – giving Haruhi plenty of notification as well, as he'd requested. Taka appreciated the notice as well.

Her options would be to wear a rash-vest over her bindings, or one of those shirts that Jun-chan and Misa-chan had mentioned that would make it look like she had a man's physique instead of the small breasts she actually did. Since it was 'known' that she had an unattractive birthmark on her chest, and she'd always worn a rash-vest (or similar) when swimming before, she'd probably go with that option.

“And... why did we choose Okinawa?” the twins asked as they piled out of the limousines at their destination.

“Kyouya's family has a private beach here,” Tamaki answered.

“What a beautiful place!” Mitsukuni complimented with a smile as he looked around. Quietly, Taka agreed with her cousin.

“But we could've gone to...” the twins started together.

“... the Caribbean,” Hikaru suggested.

“Or Fiji,” Kaoru added.

“And do you think that Haruhi has a passport?” Kyouya countered.

“Oh,” the twins said, shoulders slumping.

“Thank you for being so considerate of me,” Haruhi said, his own shoulders hanging, “but if you had been willing to wait another couple of weeks, I would have been able to put paperwork through to get one.”

“We're here now,” Kyouya said, and waved the matter off. “And our guests will be arriving shortly, as will Jun-chan and Misa-chan.”

“We're going to keep working as Hosts while we're here?” the twins asked unhappily. “This really wasn't in our expectations.”

“The _Hosts_ , as well as Jun-chan and Misa-chan, are invited here for free. Please be kind to our guests,” Kyouya answered them easily.

“The girls are all paying to be here, aren't they?” Haruhi asked rhetorically.

“Hai,” Kyouya answered with a smile. “This is an _exclusive_ getaway. They will only be here for the one day though. Tomorrow we will have the beach to ourselves, and the photographers, before returning home.”

Taka's heart skipped a beat when she saw Haruhi in only his swimming shorts. She couldn't think why – she _had_ seen him in similar outfits before after all, thanks to Tamaki's cosplay ideas. All the same, it skipped _another_ beat when Haruhi turned to her and smiled. That smile was _just_ like the one Haruhi had worn just before he'd had given her a goodbye kiss on the cheek the other day in the back of her limousine.

For today though, there were guests to Host for. Anything further between the two of them would have to wait a while.


	6. Chapter 6

Haruhi had gone for a 'swim' in the ocean with some of her guests – though none of the girls had really been interested in going in any deeper than their knees and having a bit of a splash around – and then been recruited by Hani-sempai to collect shellfish that could be added to their evening meal. Normally, Haruhi would object that there shouldn't _be_ that sort of shellfish available in the area for Hani-sempai to collect, but he _had_ spotted a bunch of grown men in tactical gear moving buckets of such delicacies off a truck and onto the sand when he'd been returning from splashing with the girls.

So, instead he just pulled on a T-shirt so that he wouldn't have to worry about sunburn, and together with Takashi-sempai, they collected giant crabs, sea urchins, oysters, mussels, and a whole lot of other things that were going to be _delicious_ once they'd been cooked.

“It all looks so good,” Haruhi said happily. “Tonight's dinner is going to be _huge_!”

“You like seafood, Haru-kun?” Hani-sempai asked.

Haruhi nodded. “Hai!” he agreed. “Oh, that one's not good for eating,” Haruhi said, and picked a centipede off where it was crawling over one of the giant crabs.

“Haruhi?” Takashi-sempai asked, curious.

Haruhi lobbed the bug over a rocky outcrop to land on or beyond it. “There. We don't have to worry about it frightening the guests, and with its hard shell, it will be just fine too,” he answered, and returned to the seniors.

“Ah,” Takashi-sempai said softly.

“Oh! Another side-dish,” Haruhi proclaimed happily as he bent to collect another shellfish from a rock pool.

“Haruhi-kun!” three voices called from above.

He looked up. There were three of his regular customers standing on top of an overhang.

“The wind feels good up here!” they called down.

“It's dangerous up there,” Haruhi countered. “What if you slipped?”

“Ah, but it feels so nice!” they insisted.

“Oh!” a new voice called. “There's some chicks over here!”

Haruhi's gaze sharpened. The only guys on the beach should be the Hosts. There weren't even any servants around, though no servant would make a crass comment like _that_. Which meant...

His expression was fierce as he ran past Hani-sempai and Takashi-sempai up to the path that would lead him up to where the girls were. He didn't notice, but they followed.

“Lucky us!” the same voice declared. “Hey pretties, let's go have some fun! Come on, it's boring just being by yourselves, right?”

“Please stop!” one of the girls objected. “This is a private beach!”

“What's that supposed to mean? Are y'all rich girls or something?” asked a new voice.

But Haruhi could see them now, and he grabbed the nearest trespasser the way his dad had taught him. It wasn't a hold sanctioned by any martial arts dojo, and the following throw almost always strained the shoulder, but it was _very_ effective at removing a person from one place to another, violently.

“Why don't you just get lost already,” Haruhi asked the remaining guy – who had his arms around two of the girls, even as the third ran past Haruhi to take refuge behind him. “They don't like your come-ons. They're saying it's annoying.”

“A guy as girly-looking as you has no business trying to play hero!” the remaining idiot said, pulling the two girls tighter to himself.

“Girly-looking?” Haruhi asked, and pulled his top off over his head. He held it out for the girl to take and cover herself with a little. He wasn't _very_ defined, but he certainly had a male physique, once it wasn't disguised into androgyny by clothing.

The guy gulped nervously, but tightened his arms around the girls.

Then Hani-sempai and Takashi-sempai arrived.

“You _will_ release them, right now,” Takashi-sempai said firmly.

The guy complied, and made a break for it.

Hani-sempai stopped him. “Humph!” he said, turning his nose up after having thrown the guy into his friend. “He's drunk, so I went easy on him.”

They both would still need to be hospitalised.

“Are you all okay?” Haruhi checked with the girls, making a mental note to ask Kyouya-sempai about Hani-sempai's martial arts skills. (He'd probably have to pay for the information with baked goods again, but that was alright.)

“Un!” they answered with slightly shaken smiles.

“You'd better get down from here,” Haruhi suggested to them. “I think everybody is going back to their hotels now anyway.”

The girls nodded.

“Ano, Haruhi-kun, your T-shirt.”

“Arigato,” Haruhi answered, and took the piece of clothing back to pull over his head.

“Haru-kun, I didn't know you could fight,” Hani-sempai commented as they climbed down from the promontory and back to the beach.

Haruhi shrugged. “Dad taught me how to throw a punch and how to throw a person, but I've never had any formal training,” he answered.

“Ne, Haru-kun, why?” Hani-sempai asked.

“An okama risks getting attacked by people for all sorts of reasons,” Jun-chan answered before Haruhi could. The two university students had been taking pictures of the sunset. “Drunks who want a good time with a pretty face...”

“...Drunks who proceed to get offended when you tell them you're actually a guy and ask them to back off,” Misa-chan added.

“And there are some people who just... really don't like okamas for whatever reasons of their own,” Haruhi said, finishing the explanation. “That's why I learned, but if you're asking why I didn't ever get formal training... attending a dojo isn't exactly cheap, and Dad worked three jobs as it was. Still does.”

“Oh,” Hani-sempai said softly, sadly.

“Haruhi,” Takashi-sempai said seriously. “Have you ever been attacked?”

“I've been bullied,” Haruhi answered. “But never outright attacked, yet. I don't walk the streets in skirts and dresses though, which keeps me safe from that sort of thing for the most part.”

And then it was time to head back to the house. Small mansion.

Since there were no servants in the house, and since they were staying at the house rather than at a hotel, making dinner was pretty much up to the Hosts themselves. Since the only ones that _could_ cook were Haruhi and the seniors though (Jun-chan and Misa-chan lived on instant ramen, take-out, and charity for their meals), it was left to them to make dinner. The two seniors would have just boiled the crab and left it at that, themselves only having minimal kitchen experience (for all that they had more than any of the other Hosts), but Haruhi had been cooking for himself and his dad for some time, and had a better idea of what to do with crab meat.

As well as using all the other seafood they'd collected.

“Wow Haru-kun, you're a really good cook!” Hani-sempai exclaimed in awe as Haruhi started plating everything up to be taken out to the dining room.

“Ah, arigato,” he said with a smile. “I had good motivation to learn. All the recipes I had were my mother's, and when she died... well, I took over the household chores, including cooking. Apart from it tasting better when I got it right, it always made Dad extra happy when I did,” Haruhi explained, a smile on his face as he thought of fond memories.

He shook it off, and helped the seniors carry the plates out to the dining room.

“Ta-da!” Hani-sempai declared happily. “It's all cooked and ready!”

“My apologies to you, Sempai,” Kyouya said as he approached the table, “and you, Fujioka. We don't have any maids here right now.”

“We're the ones making the sudden visit here,” Hani-sempai pointed out. “Is everyone here?”

“Hai,” Tamaki-sempai answered, and everyone moved to take a seat.

Those who didn't cook sat on one side of the table, and those who did were on the other.

“This is really good!” the twins complimented happily.

“Haruhi-kun will make a good hubby some day,” Jun-chan said with a sigh. “If I wasn't so in love with Misa-chan, I'd want a Haruhi-kun for my husband.”

“Just as well you _are_ in love with me,” Misa-chan said firmly. “And that I'm in love with you, or we'd be fighting over who gets to marry him.”

Haruhi laughed. “You'd both lose,” he informed them happily, and glanced briefly up at Takashi-sempai seated beside him, a smile on his face as he took another bite of his meal.

There was a matching one on Takashi-sempai's face.

Jun-chan held out a hand, palm up, to Misa-chan. “Pay up,” he said even as he gathered food together with his chopsticks.

Misa-chan stuck out his tongue, but slapped a few notes down all the same.

Haruhi raised an eyebrow. “You bet on my potential love-life?” he asked.

“After the first photo-shoot? Of course we did!” Jun-chan answered happily. “And we promise to _not_ be in the area when you introduce Mori-san to your father,” he added with a smile and a nod.

~oOo~

Taka forced herself not to react, though she was sure that there was at least a slight blush creeping up her face. Betting on Haruhi's love-life? That was a little embarrassing. Meeting his father? It was a surprisingly terrifying prospect, and one that sparked in her the realisation that she would have to introduce Haruhi to _her_ parents at some point. She had forgotten all of those things under the weight of simply trying to figure out the confusing things Haruhi had made her feel and the anticipation of no longer having to hide her gender when the year ended.

She seemed to have a name for at least one of those confusing emotions now though: love. From that, she _should_ be able to figure out the rest.

Wait... she would be ending the charade of being male at the end of the year... if she was committed to a _relationship_ with Haruhi... _if_ she was committed to a relationship with Haruhi... then he should know. She should tell him. But... when? Should she tell him soon? Should she leave telling him until the school year was over and let him find out with everybody else?

Confusion seemed to be the emotion that would be the marker of this, her last year of high school, for a while longer yet.

“Oh, it's getting dark out there,” Mitsukuni noticed suddenly.

“The forecast is for a thunderstorm,” Kyouya answered, also turning to look out the windows.

Taka noticed that Haruhi stiffened beside her in his seat.

“But it will be cleared up by morning,” Kyouya continued.

“Ah, the dramatic _thunderstorm_ shot,” Misa-chan swooned with delight. “Of course, it's very hard to get, as lightning is notoriously uncooperative,” he added with a pout.

“We have the thunderheads at least, we can photo-shop the lightning in after if we need to,” Jun-chan comforted.

Taka watched as Haruhi became more and more rigid in his seat, and some of the colour drained from his already naturally pale face.

“Kyouya,” she said suddenly, interrupting the flow of conversation about pictures inspired by the storm outside.

“Hai, Mori-sempai?” the junior enquired after a moment.

“Is there a dojo here?” she asked.

“Iie,” Kyouya answered with a shake of his head. “The Ootori family employ a private army, but each one of those men come from dojos outside of our purview. My family all study medicine and business, rather than any kind of martial arts. We do have a small gym though,” he offered. “But I expect you don't really care to use a running machine or a rowing machine.”

Taka shook her head.

“What are you thinking, Takashi?” Mitsukuni asked.

“Haruhi... should know more than just how to punch,” she answered, delicately avoiding mentioning that the boy was looking nervous and tense with this talk about the storm that was due to hit them that very night.

“Ah! A moment between two handsome men, the rigours of physical exertion, all as lightning flashes outside the window behind them!” Jun-chan enthused.

“So dramatic!” Misa-chan agreed with a coo. “Thunderstorms are a time for passion, to act without inhibitions, to release -”

“- The _Beast_ ,” Jun-chan finished with a grin. “Which room should we set up for photos, Kyouya-kun?”

“If everyone has finished eating?” Kyouya asked, and got a round of nods – they had all been eating as the discussion had carried on after all. “Then I'll show you, and once everyone knows which room, they can change into the clothes they wish to wear for this shoot.”

Taka and Haruhi hung back as the group left the dining hall though, stacking plates and carrying them back to the kitchen.

“Afraid of thunderstorms?” Taka asked softly as they loaded the plates into the dish-washing machine.

“Hai,” Haruhi said with a nod. “Since I was small. When there isn't any lightning or thunder, I can look at my fear rationally, and know that there isn't anything to be afraid of, but... when there's a storm...”

Taka nodded in silent understanding and, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, lay a hand on Haruhi's shoulder, offering what comfort she could in that moment as she squeezed it gently.

“Sight or sound?” she asked.

“A combination of both, plus the fear of the apartment rattling to pieces when I was home alone not long after my mother died, and fear that Dad would get caught in the storm on his way home and... and _not_ make it home... After a while, the whole thing just settled into a fear of the thunderstorm itself, because of all the other fears associated with it,” Haruhi explained softly.

“Takashi!” Mitsukuni called as he bounced into the room. “Haru-kun! Are you coming?”

“Coming, Hani-sempai,” Haruhi answered.

The room they were led to had _very_ large windows, as well as a fainting couch, a love seat, and a piano.

“Keep your eyes closed,” Taka suggested softly in Haruhi's ear. “You won't see the lightning. I can also fetch earplugs for you, so that you won't hear the thunder.”

“Why do you have earplugs?” Haruhi asked, just as softly.

“I had them so that I could sleep on the journey here,” Taka answered.

Haruhi smiled. “Thank you, Takashi-sempai,” he said softly. “Really.”

Taka nodded. “Come,” she said. “We haven't changed for the photo shoot yet,” she pointed out in response to Haruhi's confused expression.

Haruhi smiled. “No, we haven't,” he agreed. “Thank you,” he said again as they left the other Hosts behind with Jun-chan and Misa-chan. “For helping me hide my fear from the others.”

Taka nodded and squeezed Haruhi's hand in hers a moment.

~oOo~

“Why am I being fitted for _European_ _armour_?” Haruhi asked with a raised eyebrow as he accepted the softer clothes that he would wear underneath the armour that was being designed not five feet from where he stood. “Though I appreciate that it will look great... I can't see it being _comfortable_ , and, as previously stated when we did the tropical thing, if I'm not _comfortable_ , my customers aren't going to get a happy Host.”

“Because of the cultural festival coming up, our costumes must be more extravagant,” Kyouya explained. “There are other clubs, thespian groups and choirs being invited from a few other schools as well. We are putting on a showing just as much as they are.”

Haruhi blinked, his expression flat. “And if we get _customers_ from those other schools, even by chance? You don't think they might find full armour and _swords_ a little intimidating?” he asked.

Tamaki made a _gurk_ sound behind him, and flinched. It had been _his_ idea to go for the armour _and swords_ , after all.

“Ne, Haru-kun, what do you think we should do?” Hani-sempai asked curiously.

Haruhi blinked, surprised at the question. His opinion on such things was rarely (if ever) consulted beyond fittings for the costumes he'd wear. “Me? Um... Maybe... instead of knights... a nightclub? Smoky lights and cushioned booths? That's the sort of place normal host clubs are...” he offered hesitantly, head cocked to one side as he thought out the idea.

“Large chairs and intimate lighting would be less intimidating than shining armour,” Kyouya-sempai agreed with a nod. “It is also much easier to do, though it leaves the question of the costumes,” he pointed out, his voice raised slightly as he spoke over his shoulder to where Tamaki-sempai had been sniffling dejectedly in the corner.

“Oh-ho!” the blonde cried, and straightened, a new light in his eyes. “A jazz look, but with long coats and fur trim!” he exclaimed. “Yes, a nightclub! A smoke machine! Each booth illuminated by a different coloured light! We can save the armour for _after_ the cultural festival. But, Haruhi, won't you wear the armour for our guests when we do the theme?” Tamaki-sempai asked with slightly wet eyes.

“Iie,” Haruhi said firmly. “I'm willing to wear the tunic, a dorky hat, even the hose, but I will _not_ sit around for two hours in plate armour, pretending that I'm comfortable while I try to make conversation and sweat as discreetly as I can. I'd rather wear a lady's surcoat and have needlepoint across my lap,” he added dryly.

“That could be arranged,” Kyouya said with a smirk.

Haruhi sighed, and went to get changed so that he could be measured for his armour. He'd be wearing it for a photo-shoot at least, after all.

Then the first day of the cultural festival was upon them.

“Haruhi,” the twins called once they'd packed up after the last class of the day. “Tono picked out a dress for you to wear as well as a man's costume. Which will you wear?”

Haruhi smirked, aware that a number of his customers in class were listening sharply all of a sudden. “What does the dress look like?” he asked.

The twins grinned happily.

“You two go ahead,” Haruhi said. “I've got to stop by the library for a couple of things, then I'll be along,” he promised.

“Ok,” they answered with a wave, and headed off.

Haruhi moved quickly to the library, and loaded down with books, moved a bit slower to the third music room. Even moving slower though, Haruhi was still in a hurry, and wasn't paying attention to his feet – focused instead on where he was going. Something tripped him.

However, someone caught him before he could face-plant into the fine marble flooring.

“It would be a terrible shame if you got a scar on your cute face,” an unfamiliar voice said as the arms that had caught Haruhi set him back upright on the ground. “Madam.”

Haruhi looked up sharply – and up, and _up_. This person was _tall_. Ah. It was a girl from the Saint Lobelia Girls Academy. And she'd mistaken him for a girl, even while he was in the boy's uniform.

“Thank you,” Haruhi said plainly and without any particular inflection. He didn't mind it when he was wearing a dress, being mistaken for a girl. But he was wearing trousers right now! “But if you will excuse me, I need to get to my club,” he apologised lightly, bowed very slightly, and turned to continue on his way.

“Fair maiden, may I escort you?” the girl asked, even as she started following. Any negative answer would probably be ignored. “What club are you a part of?”

Haruhi kept his face neutral, even as he sighed a little. “I suppose you'll see when we get there,” he allowed with a mild air of resignation. “It's not far.”

As they approached the third music room, Haruhi spotted two more girls in the same uniform as his escort, and one of them was giving quite the harsh little speech.

“Men are lowly life forms that think about nothing save their own reputation. They change their own worthlessness to something more convenient,” the shorter of the two (indeed, the shortest of all three Lobelia girls) declared. “And how abominable of them to make it seem as if we have to thank them.”

“Hinagiku, you know everything,” said the taller of the two softly.

Haruhi rolled his eyes. Tamaki-sempai must have said something – he could see the blonde bent in half in front of the girls, so it _must_ have been him.

“That was pretty harsh,” Tamaki-sempai said, and straightened up. “Then, what kind of words _would_ you desire?”

“Let's see,” the tall girl at Haruhi's side said, “if it were me, I'd never leave my lover alone!” she declared, and pulled Haruhi up ( _up_ , as in _off the ground_ up) and raised a hand in a grand (pointless) gesture. “We shall brave all trials together!” she continued, and spun Haruhi around, and out dramatically.

He had to hold on just so that he wouldn't fall over, but he felt more than a little like a rag-doll, being thrown about like this.

“If we do not succeed, then we shall be each others comfort,” she continued, and lifted Haruhi before setting him down again on his feet on the other side of the hall before she went down on one knee, still holding one of Haruhi's hand. “And even if my life ends, I swear to never leave your side for eternity.”

Haruhi pulled his hand from hers. It really was the only opportunity in the last little while he'd had to definitively shake this girl. “Thank you,” he said. “But if you will excuse me.”

“Benibara-sama, you're late!” the smaller girl said as Haruhi passed her.

“You troublesome person, but where did you find such a charming lady?” the other said.

“Just out there, I could tell at once, even if she was wearing men's clothing.”

Haruhi shook his head, and ducked into the changing rooms before he could be grabbed again. The two costume options were a wine coloured dress or chocolate-coloured trousers and vest, a cream shirt, and a long coat with short fur trim around the collar. Honestly, he liked both, but... with the girls there thinking he _was_ a girl... Haruhi smirked to himself and reached for the dress and the hair extensions.

From the dressing room, he could hear every word of their conversation. Light-minded fools with little history, were they? Okay, he'd grant the 'little history'. Tamaki-sempai had founded the Host Club, that didn't give them a lot of time to make history, though they'd been making a pretty good start. However, 'light-minded fools' was _not_ accurate... except maybe for Tamaki-sempai, and even then it wasn't accurate _all_ the time.

“The Zuka Club?” the twins cackled. “What awesome naming sense!” they laughed. “My stomach hurts! Zuka Club is the best! They went through all the trouble of hiding costumes underneath their uniforms!”

“Don't take the Zuka Club so lightly!” Renge-chan scolded as her platform rose from its cavity beneath the music room floor – a sight that Haruhi got to see, as he exited the changing rooms at that moment. The girl was wearing a purple haori and red pleated skirt. Not exactly in with the theme, but... not exactly _out_ of place either, Haruhi decided as he watched with one eye and scanned the props table with the other, ultimately picking a white fur stole to wrap around his shoulders.

“Saint Lobelia Girls' Academy: the garden of maidens,” Renge-chan proclaimed. “Within the school, the Zuka Club are a gathering of maidens who are amongst the strongest advocates of women's supremacy.”

Haruhi quietly stepped up to Takashi-sempai's side and rested his head on the tall senior's arm lightly until it shifted, going around his waist and tucking him in so that he was leaning against the thick fur collar of Takashi-sempai's coat.

“A society that prides itself on its thirty-three year history, it is a society of maidens, by maidens, and for maidens,” Renge-chan continued. “Activities of the Zuka Club include the maiden tea party, the maiden discussion, and above all, the musical show presented by the top members of the society!”

“Renge-kun, you cover a wide field of knowledge,” Kyouya complimented blandly.

“This is nothing more than admiration on my part,” she answered, more flattered by the compliment than she was fulfilled by her admiration of the club she had been telling them about. “The fact that there are no guys spells utter failure for me,” she stated, and her raised platform began to lower again.

The middle-height girl, Maihara-san, spoke up about the beauty of maidens. The shortest, Tsuwabuki-san, talked about being 'sick of oppression' from men, and finally Amakusa-san, the tallest, talked about women having pure romantic relationships with other women because they were able to understand each other, based on being of the same gender.

Tamaki-sempai passed out from the culture shock.

“And now I hope that you all see why I said that the Zuka Club would have been a problem for me if I'd applied for the Lobelia scholarship,” Haruhi said plainly.

“Ah,” Takashi-sempai agreed, and the arm around Haruhi's waist tightened a little.

“In fact, I'm tired of laughing now,” Kaoru said.

“Just go home,” Hikaru agreed, and the twins looped their arms around each other and moved off to their intimate booth and their designating guests that had arrived early.

“Ara, ara,” Tsuwabaki scoffed lightly. “Are you all speechless before our noble love?” she asked, and laughed.

“Don't tease them Hinagiku,” Maihara-san said as she tenderly stroked the cheek of the tallest girl that stood between them. “They are troubled because their best host techniques won't work on us.”

Hani-sempai giggled from beside Haruhi, just softly, and looked up at the dress-wearing freshman student. “A challenge,” he whispered. “You'd win, Haru-kun!”

Haruhi smirked back and nodded slightly. “It's possible,” he agreed.

“However, it was worthwhile coming and having a peek at this notorious Ouran Host Club after our show,” Amakusa-san said.

“We're notorious?” Hani-sempai asked, surprised.

“Who knows,” Takashi-sempai answered with a shrug.

“Sempai, you have guests,” Kyouya pointed out softly.

“Un!” Hani-sempai answered, and bounced off to his booth.

Takashi-sempai gave Haruhi one last squeeze, and then followed after the shortest (and oldest) member of the Host Club.

“I cannot believe they've involved such a helpless female student involved in their activities,” Amakusa-san lamented.

Haruhi ignored her – but politely of course. He had guests to welcome after all, and welcomed them all with a smile as they complimented his dress. He promised quietly to pose for pictures in it later when Jun-chan and Misa-chan came to take pictures of the day's cosplay theme.

“I don't care if your president is a half or not, but to use flashy looks to create fictitious love and fool the pure hearts of maidens is complete discrimination against women!” Amakusa-san declared harshly. “To call this a club activity and use it for your own greed and profit is totally inexcusable! I swear,” she said firmly, stepping up in yet _another_ costume change (this one looking _extremely_ reminiscent of Nazi uniforms), the other two girls flanking her in the same uniform, “that I will abolish the Ouran Host Club at once!” she declared loudly.

“Hail Zuka Club!” the other two girls agreed, and the three of them gave the same salute that the Roman soldiers (and the Nazis) once gave.


	7. Chapter 7

Taka watched as Haruhi went stiff in his seat after hearing that proclamation from the Zuka Club girls. Out of one corner of her eye only, since she had designates of her own to keep up the supply of cakes and tea to, as well as Mitsukuni of course. She watched as he excused himself to his guests and stood up to confront the Zuka Club girls.

“I see, I understand your intention,” Kyouya said, the only Host still giving the invading club his full attention, “but could we continue this at another time?” he requested politely.

“You mean you will not face us?” asked tallest girl.

“Not at all,” Kyouya said, “but our president is still in bed from the culture shock.”

“Then get him up!” hissed the girl. “Ugh, it's not even worth a talk. Now that we know the state of things, we cannot leave a fair maiden in a club like this!”

Taka, privately, was amused. She was the only girl in the club, but they didn't notice _her_ hidden gender, even though they believed _Haruhi_ was a girl on no solid evidence at all. It was also a little bit depressing – really, if anybody should spot her ruse, it _should_ be the girls of the Zuka Club, but they hadn't. They hadn't even looked at her twice, and yet they were obsessing over Haruhi.

“We shall process her admission papers to Lobelia immediately, and bring her into the Zuka Club!” the tall girl declared.

At that point, Haruhi reached them, and looked up into the tall girl's face.

Taka felt her heart stop in her chest. No. Haruhi wouldn't... wouldn't _leave_ them. He'd said! He'd _said_ that he wouldn't do well in Lobelia because of _this very club_! That he could convince the whole school he was a girl if he wanted to, Taka didn't doubt, but...

“Fair maiden, will you come with us?” the girl asked, her grey eyes soft.

The whole room suddenly became tensely silent as every student – guest and Host alike – waited for Haruhi's answer.

“Kyouya-sempai, will you explain to me about the profits of this club?” he asked coolly.

“Essentially it is a point system,” the shadow king answered. “On our home page's net auction, for example, customers can redeem their points for credit towards their items. It isn't a volunteer service. Once you deduct the funds required for event planning, clothing, food and drinks, our profit margins are really quite minimal, though that has improved since we have been able to supply better merchandise.”

“And the rest?”

“All true. Tamaki is half Japanese and half French, and the club has only been going since Tamaki and I entered high school.”

“I see,” Haruhi said, and frost could have issued from between his lips.

“Poor girl, you're in shock because of all of the lies, right?” the middle girl, Maihara-san, said.

“Ne, you should leave these people and come join us,” the shortest said with a sort of fierce expression as she attempted to offer some strange version of comfort.

“Not so hasty, Hinagiku,” the tallest, Amakusa-san, reproved gently. “The fair maiden is disturbed right now. We shall come ask her again tomorrow,” she decided. “We look forward to a good response from you,” she added, and tapped Haruhi on the shoulder as she moved passed him. “Well then, adieu!”

All three of them laughed as their twirled out of the room.

Haruhi turned abruptly from watching the Zuka girls leave, his large brown eyes scanning the room until they met _hers_. “Takashi-sempai? Would your customers be offended if I borrowed you for a moment?” he asked.

Taka looked down at the girls that were gathered in the booth she was sharing with Mitsukuni. Not one of them was without hearts or stars in their eyes as they observed the by-play. She stood, and went to Haruhi. Not a word was said against it.

Haruhi crooked a finger, beckoning her down. Taka bent, and received a kiss to her lips as a reward – and all around them, the girls squealed happily, the cameras in their phones flashing all around them.

Taka drew in a shaky, shuddering breath when Haruhi's lips finally released her own – and left a smear of lipstick over her mouth, not that she knew or cared at that moment. “Haruhi?” she asked softly.

“I apologise, Takashi-sempai, but I needed to do something, and I felt that hitting Tamaki-sempai wouldn't be a good idea,” Haruhi answered in a whisper. “Besides, that was _very_ nice,” he added with a smile.

Taka nodded happily, a slight smile on her face and a hint of a blush warming her cheeks from the shared activity. It _was_ very nice.

“Aah! Mori-sempai and Haruhi-kun! Yaoi romance!” cried the girls around them happily.

“Oops,” Haruhi said softly, blushing a little as he smiled up at her. “Guess our secret is out.”

Taka shrugged, not in the least bit upset. “Kyouya will be selling pictures soon enough,” she pointed out.

It wasn't their first kiss after all – almost the entire Host Club and its patronage had been witness to _that_ kiss, but it was a game penalty, and could be excused. This... this kiss couldn't be excused the way the first one could, and they'd swapped more at the beach after their guests had left. Jun-chan and Misa-chan had even taken pictures – pictures which would be for sale soon enough.

Though, the two okama were already working on compiling all photos of the two of them into an album for her and Haruhi that would _not_ be for sale.

Haruhi spent most of the rest of club time assuring everybody that he had no intention of leaving, just in case him having kissed her in front of all of them hadn't made it clear enough that he had more reason to stay than to go.

~oOo~

Haruhi was accosted on his way to club the next day by all three of the Zuka girls.

“Yo, fair maiden!” the tallest greeted.

“We have come, as we promised,” the shortest said.

“We will convince the Host Club today,” stated the third.

“Convince them of what?” Haruhi asked, more for clarification than out of confusion.

“That a fair maiden such as yourself should be in a place more suited to you,” the tall girl said, and twirled Haruhi around before presenting him with the door, her two cohorts on the other side of him, on one knee as they presented the door to him.

The door that, frankly, Haruhi knew better than he knew any of them. Not that he reached for the handle.

“You three have a lot of nerve,” he informed them lowly.

“Fair maiden?” Amakusa-san asked, confused.

“You said you would destroy the Host Club,” Haruhi started, counting off the point on one finger – implying very clearly that he had more than one point to make. “You have _no_ authority in _this_ school to do any such thing.”

This seemed to floor all three girls, as their jaws dropped open in surprise and they blinked dumbly.

“You claim that the Host Club _preys_ upon _defenceless_ women,” he continued, counting off not only a second but also a third point. “Ignoring first of all that the customers of the Host Club _choose_ to walk through those doors, and second of all using the same terminology that you yourselves claim to despise.”

“I-it's easier to make our point understood...” Tsuwabuki-san, the shortest, stuttered out in protest.

“Furthermore,” Haruhi latched his left pointer over his right pinky, counting off the fourth point he intended to make, “the Zuka Club _also_ sells merchandise for profit, just like the Host Club, and just like many other more legitimate businesses.”

“It's not the same thing,” Maihara-san objected, a scandalised expression on her face. “Such items are produced from the love of our fellow students for the Zuka Club members...”

“Fair maiden -” Amakusa-san started.

“ _My name is not 'fair maiden'_!” Haruhi snapped at them sharply.

In front of them all, the door opened, revealing the Hosts standing there, serious expressions on their faces.

Haruhi stepped through the doors and slowly walked towards the Host Club, his back to the Zuka girls.

“Haruhi believes in equality between the sexes, that whether a person is a man or a woman doesn't matter,” Takashi-sempai added with a sort of razor-sharp edge to his pleasantly bland tone. “And not the superiority that the Zuka Club is so zealous for.”

“And Haruhi doesn't use any 'host club tricks' or 'acts' like the rest of us,” the twins added. “Just talks with the customers.”

“Haru-kun applied for the Ouran scholarship, and _not_ the Lobelia scholarship,” Hani-sempai pointed out to the girls.

“Un!” Tamaki-sempai said, joining in. “Haruhi-kun has dreams to fulfil. Dreams that _Ouran_ is more suited to aiding in the fulfilment of than Lobelia,” he added a little smugly. His father _was_ the school's superintendent after all. He was entitled to a _little_ pride in the school he attended.

“Fujioka-kun, you have customers arriving soon,” Kyouya-sempai stated.

Haruhi nodded, but didn't move otherwise.

“You can have nothing further to say, and are clearly not interested in being entertained by any of the Hosts. Your presence here after your show for our school's cultural festival is also disruptive,” Haruhi informed the Zuka girls without turning. His back was straight as he stood between Tamaki-sempai and Kyouya-sempai, the other Hosts fanned out around them. He ticked his head around ever-so-slightly and said “Please leave.”

“Benio...” said Maihara-san softly.

“Yes, I understand,” Amakusa-san answered. “I won't give up,” she called after Haruhi. “Fair maiden. We swear,” she continued solemnly, “that we will rescue you from this place some day, and destroy this Host Club!”

Haruhi looked over his shoulder at her, and privately wondered if the girl had been dropped on her head as a child, or was related to Tamaki-sempai. Both were obnoxious in very much the same way.

“Jai Jien!” she called, a Chinese bidding of “see you again” that Haruhi hoped was never fulfilled, however futile he knew that hope to be. Obnoxious rich people who didn't listen to what they were told frequently got their own way through sheer bull-headed-ness.

The girls spun away and the doors shut.

“And thus, a new rival, in the form of the Zuka Club, has appeared,” Renge announced as she rose on her motorised platform. “And the story reaches an even more interesting part. What shall be waiting for them ahead?” she asked in raptures. Clearly, she had _not_ been cured of her role-play-gaming otaku habits yet. “Good luck, Host Club! Do not lose, Host Club!”

“Oi! Don't be cooking things up by yourself!” Tamaki-sempai scolded the girl, his arms waving about in a display of his agitation.

~oOo~

Thankfully, Kyouya was very good about arranging Host Club days out around the various important assignments, tests, and personal appointments that the members of said club had – provided that said details were communicated to him. This meant that the photo-shoot for the European armour idea happened on the weekend _after_ they'd all suffered from a battery of tests and sizable essays, rather than the weekend _before_. Haruhi was even given enough notice to pack an over-night bag so that they could go straight from school after their club activities to the estate where they'd be having the shoot.

There would be horse-riding in the fancy armour, so they needed to get the hang of actual _horse-riding_ before there could be any photos of knights in shining armour. The lessons were all photographed as well of course, for a more casual 'Hosts having fun' sort of thing.

Haruhi was also given a dress and a half-done bit of needlepoint to sit by a window and stitch at, or to set aside while he talked with one of the 'knights' out the window.

“Haruhi-kun,” Jun-chan called as he lowered his camera at the end of the shoot on Sunday.

“Hai?” Haruhi answered warily. He _knew_ that tone from the okama.

“When are you going to introduce Mori-kun to your father?” Jun-chan asked.

“Soon, I suppose,” Haruhi answered vaguely, and shrugged. “We haven't actually had a proper date yet, the trip to the beach not counted.”

“Bah!” Jun-chan said, waving that comment off. “Of course it's counted. You didn't spend all of it with customers or in front of the camera, did you? And Haruhi-kun, just so you know, Misa-chan is having this same conversation with your Mori-kun.”

For this shoot, Misa-chan had set up outside the window while Jun-chan was inside with Haruhi, so they'd have pictures from both angles of Haruhi and the 'knights' he interacted with through the open window.

“It _might_ be an idea for you to invite that handsome man of yours over before you get intimidated by _his_ home, ne?” Jun-chan prodded with a smile.

Haruhi sighed. “How long will it take you to get these photos developed?” he asked, changing the subject. “I think Kyouya-sempai wants to sell the pictures the same day as we do the theme at school.”

“I'll let you get away with it for now Haruhi-kun,” Jun-chan said, wagging a finger, “but don't think to leave it too long! A romance is something your papa would want to know about. Don't make it be me or Misa-chan who tells him about it!”

“Jun-chan,” Haruhi said flatly.

Jun-chan sighed. “The photos will be ready for Kyouya-kun by Tuesday morning, and knowing him, they'll be compiled into photo collections for sale no later than Wednesday.”

“Then, by Wednesday, could you make a formal-looking invitation for me to give to Takashi-sempai that I can give when we do this theme in Club?” Haruhi asked. “If I just asked, the whole club would want to visit as well.”

“Yes!” Jun-chan cheered happily.

True to his word, Haruhi presented Takashi-sempai with an invitation the following Wednesday, asking the senior to share lunch and meet his father on the Sunday. Takashi-sempai didn't open the note right away, but rather waited until the guests had left.

At which point, Takashi-sempai marched into the room that Haruhi had _only just_ ducked into to remove the dress he'd been wearing for theme (Haruhi had so far only removed his hair extensions), and bent to kiss him tenderly.

“So, you'll come?” Haruhi asked softly when Takashi-sempai pulled away.

Takashi-sempai nodded silently, with a warm smile that reached all the way to the senior's dark eyes.

~oOo~

Taka knew where Haruhi lived already from having dropped him there the day the other Hosts had gone to the Ootori health resort, and of course her driver was excellent enough to remember the way. That wasn't the issue she was faced with when she woke up on Sunday morning. Rather, for the first time in her life, Taka was agonising about what to wear. She was going to meet the father of the boy she had been exchanging kisses with after all – it was a big deal.

There was also the matter of her having decided that _this_ was probably the best opportunity she was going to get to tell Haruhi the truth. To leave such an important detail much longer... would not be good, even if Haruhi was so very unconcerned with the “superficial” matter of a person's gender.

“Something is troubling you,” Morinozuka Shizune announced from the door of her daughter's bedroom.

Taka nearly jumped, and turned quickly. “Kaa-san,” she greeted.

“You are going out to spend time with this Fujioka-kun we have talked about?” Shizune persisted as she stepped into the room and closed the door. It was a strange delight for the woman to be spending more time with her daughter, and especially talking about a boy who she was interested in romantically. She was looking forward to meeting the boy.

“Hai,” Taka answered. “And meet his father. I... I have decided that I must tell him today,” she admitted.

Shizune nodded. “A wise decision,” she said. “To build a relationship with falsehood between you is never to be advised. This is not what troubles you though,” she noted.

Taka shrugged and gestured to where her clothes were strewn all over her bed.

Shizune chuckled. “My dear child,” she said fondly, and stretched up on her toes to kiss her tall daughter's cheek before she moved to the bed and grabbed up a few items. “Wear what is comfortable for you,” she instructed as she passed her choices over. “If Fujioka-kun is as you have described him to me, then he will not care what you wear, so long as he has your company.”

Taka looked down at the clothes her mother had chose, and smiled. “Arigato, Kaa-san,” she said softly. Really though, it wasn't as if she owned any clothes that would make her look bad. Now that she had chosen clothes in her hands, Taka was able to see that it was just nerves making her a little unreasonable.

The clothes her mother picked were simple, and showed off her arms. Not necessarily the clothes of a young woman who needs to _tell_ her boyfriend that she's, well, a girl. Still, she _did_ look good in the blue singlet top and the black vest, and it _was_ the sort of clothing that she was comfortable in as well, simply through being used to wearing this sort of thing rather than the more girlish clothes she had so far not been permitted.

“What are you taking as your visiting gift?” Shizune asked her daughter.

“I'm taking some strawberries,” Taka answered. “He doesn't generally like sweet things, but fruit is alright.”

“Very well,” Shizune agreed with a nod. “Will you be keeping the car, or send it back and call when you are ready to be collected?” she asked.

“Aa, the latter,” Taka answered.

Shizune nodded again in satisfaction. “Good,” she declared, then cocked her head to the side slightly as she considered her eldest child. “You are ready,” she decided. “Go on, meet your future father-in-law, and remember please to invite at _least_ your Fujioka-kun to meet your family some time soon,” she requested. “His father also, if possible.”

“Hai, Kaa-san.”

~oOo~

Haruhi heard a car pull up outside his apartment complex, and when he peered out the window, he smiled when he saw the familiar Rolls Royce limousine, and more than that, the familiar figure of Takashi-sempai climbing out of it. The car drove off again, and Haruhi hurried to open the door and welcome his guest.

“Takashi-sempai!” he called in greeting from the walkway.

The tall senior smiled and climbed the stairs up to the apartment.

“Taka,” the senior said softly, rather than returning the greeting as they stood together in the doorway. “It's actually Taka. I would like it if you would call me that.”

Haruhi cocked his head to the side. “Taka?” he asked.

The senior nodded.

Haruhi smiled gently. “Please come in, Taka,” he said.

“I brought strawberries,” Taka stated, and offered the box to Haruhi.

“Ah! Arigato!” Haruhi answered happily. “If you would like to sit, I'll make tea? My dad will be home soon...”

Taka nodded, moved to the indicated table, and sat.

“This is the second time you've asked me to call you something else,” Haruhi observed when he joined his sempai with the teacups.

Taka took a deep breath. “I'm a girl,” she said. “My family decided, to prevent another marriage between the Haninozuka and the Morinozuka families, that I would pretend to be a boy until Mitsukuni and I would no longer be... Well, next year we will be attending different universities, and... I'm not sure Mitsukuni ever knew that I _wasn't_ a boy,” she admitted. “When I graduate at the end of this year, my family will host a ball for my coming of age, and announce there that I am actually a girl. My charade will be passed off as a training method,” she explained.

Haruhi blinked once, twice, three times. “Okay,” he said. “Thank you for telling me.”

“Does this change anything?” Taka asked, truly concerned.

Haruhi chuckled, a smile lighting up his face. “Only that I can introduce you to my dad as my girlfriend, instead of as my boyfriend,” he answered easily, and lay a comforting hand over one of Taka's. “I suppose we are a truly 'okama' couple, ne?” he added, amused.

Taka blinked, smiled, and nodded happily. They were a strange pair, perhaps, but Haruhi cared for her, and she cared for Haruhi. That was what mattered. That the Lobelia girls thought Haruhi was a girl, or that all of Ouran thought that Taka was a boy – these things _didn't_ _matter_.

“You really don't mind?” Taka asked.

Haruhi shook his head. “Not at all,” he said. “Actually, I _had_ suspected,” he admitted with a conspiratorial smile. “From the first time I saw you, I wondered, and then, as I spent more time with you, I became more and more sure of my suspicions.”

Taka blushed. “How...” she started.

“How did I figure it out?” Haruhi guessed.

Taka nodded.

“There were a few things,” Haruhi recalled thoughtfully. “You were too smooth in places where you shouldn't have been,” he said, and gently stroked Taka's cheek, then trailed it down to stroke over her neck where a boy would have an Adam's Apple.

Taka nodded in understanding of this.

“And you were too... _not_ smooth in one place where you should have been,” Haruhi continued, giving a vague gesture to Taka's torso. “The first photo-shoot, when I rested my head on your chest, I could feel the bandages underneath the shirt you were wearing to make it look like you had tattoos. I asked around the next day to see if you'd been hurt in any way, but you hadn't, so...”

Taka nodded, and her blush deepened a little.

Haruhi smiled. “I won't tell,” he promised. “It's your secret after all.”

“Aa, arigato Haruhi,” Taka answered with a small, but bright, grateful smile on her face.

Then Taka's phone rang in her pocket, and she winced. “That is Kyouya's ring-tone,” she said.

Haruhi nodded in understanding. “You'd better answer him,” he agreed. “I need to get started on our lunch anyway,” he said, and pushed himself up from the table so that Taka could have some privacy for her phone call.

Five minutes later, Taka hung up the phone and moved from the table to the small kitchen.

“What did Kyouya-sempai want?” Haruhi asked curiously, a smile on his face as he looked up at her.

“They're coming over,” Taka answered solemnly. “The whole Host Club. Tamaki wants to see your house and needs moral support.”

“If we weren't waiting for my dad, I'd suggest that we not be here when they come,” Haruhi said with a shake of his head. “I guess I'd better warn the landlady,” he added with a sigh, then looked up at Taka. “I suppose I shouldn't call you 'Taka' around the other Hosts?” he guessed.

Taka shook her head. “Takashi,” she agreed. “Mitsukuni will bring cake to share, and then be made hungry for a more solid meal.”

“Well, if the whole Host Club is coming, I'm going to need to get more ingredients for lunch,” Haruhi said with a firm nod and smiled up at Taka. “We can at least be out of the apartment when they arrive. My dad won't be here for at least another half hour yet anyway, and it will take the others a little less time than that to get here.”

Taka chuckled, and nodded. “Shopping for groceries isn't much of a date,” she pointed out. “But I like it.”

Haruhi smiled back, grabbed his keys, and they both pulled their shoes on to leave the apartment.

~oOo~

They had excellent timing. The limousines of the other Hosts stopped in front of the apartment complex just as Haruhi and Taka turned onto the street, their arms a little weighed down with shopping bags – Taka had been quietly impressed with a lot of the things she saw for sale at the supermarket, and Haruhi's eye for quality in his food purchases.

“Ahh! So this is Haruhi's house!” admired Kaoru as the Hosts exited their cars and gathered together on the pavement.

“It's pretty big,” Hikaru said, his tone just as impressed as his twin's. “I didn't expect this.”

“There's so many rooms!” Mitsukuni cheered happily.

“No, actually, this is what they call a commoners' condominium building,” Kyouya corrected, and he, as the others, ignored the way Tamaki was pacing in a depressed fashion just beside him. “His home is most likely just one of these units.”

“Kyouya!” Tamaki spoke up at last, grabbing onto his classmate. “What's with this crowd?” he demanded.

“I see,” Kyouya said thoughtfully, and raised a hand to his chin. “I was of the impression that you had no courage to come alone, so I got more people to come.” Then he turned from the blonde to the twins and started to urge them back to the car. “But I guess that was unnecessary!” he said happily. “Well, let's go home now,” he suggested with a smirk.

“We don't wanna,” the twins answered with matching pouts on their faces.

“My bad! I'm sorry,” Tamaki said, grabbing hold of Kyouya's shoulders. “Please don't leave me alone,” he begged, and then gathered the other Hosts around him. “Listen, my subjects,” he said firmly. “This is nothing more than a 'we were in the area and just stopped by to say hello' type of casual visit,” he instructed, “and not at all research about the quality of the life of the Fujioka family!”

“Why would _he_ be interested in that?” Haruhi asked Taka quietly.

Taka shrugged. “It's Tamaki,” she answered softly. “Who knows how his mind works?”

“Kyouya-sempai,” Haruhi answered promptly.

Taka chuckled. “He's probably the only one,” Taka agreed with a smile.

“Words like 'pathetic', 'tight' and 'ragged' are all forbidden!” Tamaki instructed.

“Yes sir!” the twins – and Mitsukuni – agreed, and saluted the fool they followed.

“Most importantly,” Tamaki continued, “you must not make Haruhi and his father feel like you want to go home -”

“Oh no,” Haruhi cut in sharply. “I'd be _thrilled_ if you all left.”

“Ha-Haruhi!” Tamaki quailed, shocked.

“Takashi, Takashi!” Mitsukuni called, and bounced up to Taka. “What's that you've got?”

“Groceries,” Taka answered.

“Taka-shi was _invited_ to visit today, and meet my father,” Haruhi said. “Thanks to this, I had enough warning to go out and buy groceries to make today's lunch stretch to feed all of _you_ as well as those I had _already_ _planned_ to cook for today.”

Tamaki and the twins both flinched at Haruhi's cold glare. They were generally the ones that suffered when Haruhi's plans were disrupted after all. Mitsukuni almost always asked first, and Kyouya had started to co-ordinate planning with Haruhi since the attempt at kidnapping the boy away to his family's unfinished resort had failed. Spectacularly.

“Haru-kun, Haru-kun! We brought cake to share!” Mitsukuni cheered, and presented Haruhi with a green-wrapped box.

“You may come in,” Haruhi allowed as he accepted the box and headed up the stairs, “but please leave your shoes by the door,” he added. He unlocked the door when he reached it to let them all in, and took the grocery bags that Taka had been carrying and set them on the kitchen bench.

As the Hosts filed in, Haruhi almost couldn't help the growing irritation he felt. He'd only wanted to introduce two people to each other today. Instead, the whole Host Club invaded the apartment he shared with his dad – and the twins and Tamaki were insensitively (likely unconsciously) insulting, making comments about the small space and low ceiling.

“I'll make tea then,” Haruhi said, and turned away before he slapped one of them up-side of the head.

“Ah, Haruhi,” Hikaru called. “If you're going to make tea, here's some red tea our dad brought back from Africa,” he offered, and held up a small bag. “Here.”

“A-arigato,” Haruhi said as he accepted the bag and gave it a discreet sniff.

“It's a good milk tea,” Kaoru offered. “Do you have milk?”

“I do,” Haruhi agreed, and turned to boil the water. The only full set of teacups they had was a set of four though, so there was a little fishing around for extras before the tea could be served.


	8. Chapter 8

“Haruhi! I'm home!”

“Ah, Tou-san, welcome home,” Haruhi answered, a smile on his face even as he fished out one more cup for the tea. “There are... a few more guests for lunch today than I anticipated.”

“Ah! I get to meet the Host Club?” his dad asked happily as he twirled in his purple dress past the kitchen to where the Hosts were seated on the floor around the table. “My what a group of handsome men,” he said happily as he sat down. “I can't decide who I should pick, ne, Haruhi?”

“Tou-san, we talked about this just the other day,” Haruhi answered as he brought over the tea on a tray.

“Oh yes, you _have_ picked one. Ah, you can all just call me Ranka-san. It's my Genji name at the okama bar I work at,” Ranka said with a smile.

“Genji name? Is that like an alias?” Hani-sempai asked.

“That's right, Mitsukuni-kun,” Ranka answered.

“Huh? How come you know my name?” Hani-sempai asked. “We haven't been properly introduced...?”

“The eldest member of the club, Haninozuka-kun,” Ranka said, pointing from one to the other as he named them. “Then freshmen that are in the same class as Haruhi, Hitachiin Hikaru-kun, Kaoru-kun, ne? I wonder which one's which?”

“The one wearing the white vest is Kaoru-kun, the one wearing the hoodie under his red thing is Hikaru-kun,” Haruhi supplied blandly, well used to telling them apart now, as he passed out the tea.

“I've been hearing a lot about you guys,” Ranka said with a smile as he accepted his cup.

“Haruhi's been talking about us?” Kaoru asked.

Ranka, smile still on his face, hummed in the negative. “I've been talking with Kyouya-kun on the phone a lot,” he explained happily. “Yay~!” he added, and turned to Kyouya, giving the spectacled teen a quiet high-five.

“Ranka-san, you're such a beautiful person,” Kyouya complimented.

“What?!” the Hosts – including Haruhi – all yelped.

“Kyouya,” Tamaki said lowly, and lay a firm hand on his best friend's shoulder.

“We are taking care of his precious son,” Kyouya explained with a smile, though he didn't turn. “Of course, a greeting and periodic reports are obvious things we should do. This should have been your job originally though,” he added, and picked up one of the teacups to have a drink.

Tamaki released Kyouya's shoulder and collapsed into a dramatic little pit of despair.

“What a fine president you are,” Ranka complimented Kyouya, just a little flirtatiously. “Oh, I mean vice-president. The real president is that worthless Suou who actually questioned my Haruhi's gender long after it had been established, right?”

“Wait a minute Tou-san!” Haruhi said sharply. “I never knew you were connected with Kyouya-sempai!”

“Ehh, but Haruhi, you hardly _ever_ talk to me about school!” Ranka complained.

“That doesn't mean you can secretly -” Haruhi cut himself off when he noticed what Tamaki-sempai was doing. “Sempai, stop growing mushrooms in other people's storage spaces!” he snapped. Then sighed. “Tou-san, if you want to know something, you could try asking _me_ first?” he requested. “I attend school every day, and mostly it isn't anything I can think of that you would find all that interesting, so I don't bother.”

Ranka sighed, and nodded in acceptance. “And Haruhi? Your face is so _cute_ when you're angry,” he complimented, and tackled him into a hug, then he looked up from his son to Taka. “And finally, the only member of the club that was actually invited here today: senior student Morinozuka Takashi.”

Taka bowed where she sat. “It is an honour to meet you,” she said solemnly.

“Mm,” Ranka answered with a smile.

Haruhi smiled too, then extricated himself from his father's hold and stood. “Hani-sempai, you said you brought cake?” he asked. “If you will all excuse me to start lunch cooking, it should be cooked in the time it will take us to eat the cake.”

“But, Haru-kun, you should pick what sort of cake you want first!” Hani-sempai insisted.

“The box is in the kitchen,” Haruhi reminded Hani-sempai with an easy smile. “I'll pick while I chop the vegetables for lunch.”

“Yay! We get to eat Haru-kun's home cooking!” Hani-sempai cheered.

“And _we_ get to eat _fancy cakes_!” Ranka cooed happily.

After the cakes were eaten, and then lunch, Taka was the last Host to leave – though it took Kyouya, Mitsukuni and Haruhi pushing the rest of them out of the door. She still had something important to say to Ranka, after all.

“Ranka-san, I wish to date your son, officially. May we have your blessing?” she asked.

Ranka chuckled. “My my,” he said. “So serious! It is almost as if you were asking for my blessing on a more serious matter,” he commented.

Haruhi smirked. “That won't be for at least another three years Tou-san. I have to graduate from high school before I could think of asking Taka-shi to marry me,” he said.

Taka's eyes widened, but she didn't say a word. She couldn't think of any words to say. She couldn't think of anything at all.

“Eee!” Ranka yelped, and looked frantically between the two, tears brimming in his eyes. “You... you've made up your mind, haven't you, Haruhi?” he asked sadly.

“Well, I'm not the only one with a say in this matter,” Haruhi answered, and slipped his hand into Taka's.

“Aa,” Taka said. “My mother told me before I left this morning to invite you over,” she said, and a blush appeared on her face. “She said she wishes to meet her future son-in-law,” she added with a content smile.

“Oh,” Ranka whined a little. “I guess I _have_ to give my blessing,” he complained. “You two are so fixed on each other, it would be a crime not to.”

Haruhi smiled. “Arigato, Tou-san!”

Taka bowed deeply. “Arigato,” she said. Still, as the pair stepped out to say a last goodbye before Monday by Taka's car, she realised that the _only_ person she'd told her gender to was Haruhi. Well, she supposed that Ranka-san could learn at the same time as the _rest_ of the world.

~oOo~

The cosplay theme of the day was 'police', and the response had been good. The customers really did like a man in uniform. Then they got a very special customer – a little girl who (despite the outfit that looked similar to the primary school uniform) wasn't old enough to be attending Ouran yet.

“My what a special guest we have here. Welcome, lost little kitten,” Tamaki-sempai noted. “Little kitten, where did you come from?” he asked.

The child raised a finger, pointed at the gathered Host Club members in their police uniforms, and said in a loud, clear voice “Reverse harem!”

Not a one of them wasn't completely shocked by the declaration from the child.

“It's a reverse harem in here!”

“Oh, this is bad,” Tamaki-sempai said, as he struck the side of his head with an open palm. “There must still be some water in my ears from swimming.” Gym class for him that day had been in the pool.

“Indeed, Inspector General,” Hikaru agreed, twirling fingers in his own ears, a worried expression on his face that he tried to smile through and laugh off. He _hadn't_ had pool activities for gym though.

“We must be hearing things if we're hearing this little girl say things like 'reverse harem',” Kaoru agreed, wearing the same expression as his brother as he _also_ tried to clean out his ears.

“Shuchi nikurin!” the girl said next, a finger raised thoughtfully, which shocked the Hosts even more than her (accurately) describing them as a reverse harem.

After all, she'd essentially proclaimed decadence and debauchery with those little words.

“Wai! It's shuchi nikurin in here!” she cheered, and bounced up and down. “A glass character,” she said, and pointed to Kyouya-sempai, then moved on to point to Hani-sempai and say “Loli-shouta,” after which she named Taka as the “Stoic type”. With her finger pointed to the twins, she (happily) declared “Incest!”, and when she looked at Haruhi she said “Gariben”.

Haruhi grit his teeth. It was true enough, he supposed. After all, if he _weren't_ , then he wouldn't be at Ouran. Still, being _named_ as such wasn't pleasant.

When the child turned her attention to Tamaki-sempai, the boy flinched in fearful anticipation of whatever she might say about _his_ character.

He needn't have feared though, unless the idea of being a big brother scared him.

The child proclaimed “You're blonde, so you must be my oniichama!” and leapt at him.

Tamaki-sempai, of course, caught the girl. There wasn't anything he could do about that. Just dropping a _child_ would be bad. Fool though he was, even _he_ knew that.

“Hey, Tono, you have a little sister?” the twins asked.

“No, I'm an only child... I think...” Tamaki-sempai answered, even as he held the girl who had her strong little arms around his neck.

“You two _are_ both blonde,” Hani-sempai noted with a smile.

“Are 'oniichama' and 'glass character' in the same group of words?” Kyouya-sempai wondered quietly.

“That's what concerns you?” Haruhi asked. “Be glad you're not a gariben. Frankly, I'm more concerned that she knows 'shuchi nikurin'.”

“Eh, what's your name, little kitten?” Tamaki-sempai asked the child in his arms nervously.

“Kirimi!” she answered.

Gently, Tamaki-sempai set Kirimi-chan down on the floor. “Ne, Kirimi-chan, are you sure you're not getting me confused for someone else? I'm pretty sure I don't have any baby sisters,” he said nervously.

“You're... you're not my oniichama, even though you're blonde?” Kirimi-chan asked, tears welling in her eyes.

Haruhi cut in before Tamaki-sempai could do something _completely_ stupid like _decide_ to be the girl's oniichama. “He isn't, Kirimi-chan,” he said gently, and picked her up. “But somewhere your oniichama must be looking for you, ne? I'm sure it would break his heart if you were calling another boy oniichama.”

“That's true enough,” Kyouya-sempai agreed. “She came here looking for an elder brother, likely she _does_ have a blonde elder brother attending the high school. He shouldn't be too hard to find.”

“Ne,” Haruhi said with a smile. “If we know your _full_ name, Kirimi-chan, it will be that much easier for us to help you find your _real_ oniichama.”

“Nekozawa,” Kirimi-chan answered softly.

“Nekozawa-sempai's little sister, huh?” Haruhi said with a smile. “Well, in that case -”

“Kirimi~,” a voice called from beyond the door, interrupting whatever Haruhi had been about to say. “Kirimi~?”

Haruhi smiled. “Or maybe, your oniichama found out you were here, and came looking for you,” he said, and turned to face the... suddenly changed... door. It had done that once before. The time Nekozawa-sempai had peeked through. He _had_ asked Kyouya-sempai who that person was after the incident, after all.

“Oniichama?” Kirimi-chan asked, hopefully.

Instead of the darkly shrouded figure of last time though, a blonde peered out.

“Um... who are you?” the twins asked, confused.

“A foreigner?” Hani-sempai guessed.

“Nekozawa-sempai?” Haruhi suggested.

“ _Eh?!_ ” the twins, Tamaki, and Hani-sempai yelped. They yelped _again_ when the blonde nodded.

“There, Kirimi-chan, your oniichama was worried about you and came looking for you,” Haruhi said, and stepped up to hand the little girl over to Nekozawa-sempai – only for a couple of people to step up beside him.

“Obocchama, you forgot your robe.”

And with the addition of a dark wig and the familiar robe, the Hosts didn't question his identity any more – but Kirimi-chan no longer wanted to hug her oniichama.

“Right, photophobic,” Haruhi said softly, recalling the details that Kyouya-sempai had given him.

“Umehito-bocchama really despises bright light,” said the woman in a maid uniform. “Therefore, if he doesn't wear this robe, he won't be able to withstand the light and will collapse!” she explained sadly. “He even has to wear a dark wig to cover his fair hair!”

“On the other hand, his sister, Kirimi-ojousama, really despises dark places,” the bald man who'd come in at the same time explained.

“I personally think the wig is a bit much,” Haruhi said plainly. “But dark places aren't anything to be scared of, Kirimi-chan,” Haruhi said gently, and bounced the little girl on his hip.

“No! No! They're scary!” Kirimi-chan objected.

“But, you have your oniichama, who isn't scared of the dark at all, who will take care of you, ne?” Haruhi pointed out. “But, your oniichama is scared of bright places. What will you do?”

“Oniichama is scared of bright places?” Kirimi-chan parroted, her big blue eyes wide.

Haruhi nodded. “Will you hold your oniichama's hand when he's out in bright places, so that he won't be so scared?” he asked.

“B-but...” Kirimi-chan looked at the robed figure of Nekozawa-sempai. “Waah! So scary!”

“Maybe if he took the dark wig off,” Haruhi suggested, and arched a pointed eyebrow at Nekozawa-sempai.

He quickly pulled the wig off. It _was_ too much, really.

Kirimi-chan still looked a little unsure (and a good lot scared) though.

“And maybe if he wore a robe that wasn't black, would that be better? Because, you know Kirimi-chan, your oniichama is _really_ scared of the light,” Haruhi explained. “He wears the big robe so that the light won't get to him.”

Kirimi-chan wore a sad, but hopeful expression on her face.

“Perhaps a red robe?” Taka suggested softly as she came to stand behind Haruhi and look over his shoulder at the child. “Like a prince's cape?”

Nekozawa-sempai gasped softly, a look of rapturous understanding on his face, even as Kirimi-chan nodded slowly. The expression was mimicked by the two members of his family staff that had shown up. In seconds, a red robe was found and traded for the black one. It was still a little spooky, but it wasn't as dark.

Haruhi set Kirimi-chan on the floor and knelt so that he could look her in the eye. “Do you think you can hold your oniichama's hand now?” he asked. “You can protect him from the bright light that scares him, and your oniichama can protect you from the scary dark places -”

“And the monsters?” Kirimi-chan asked.

“And the monsters,” Taka confirmed with a solemn nod.

“And you'll be just fine together, ne?” Haruhi finished with an encouraging smile.

Kirimi-chan nodded, and ran to Nekozawa-sempai, grabbed a fistful of his new red robe, and hugged his legs.

Nekozawa-sempai bent down to pick her up and smiled as she transferred her hold to his neck.

“Arigato, Fujioka-kun,” he said, “Morinozuka-san,” he added, and bowed slightly to them both. “I owe you both, for helping unite me with Kirimi-chan.”

The two simply nodded back silently. Any debts owed... this was neither the time, nor the place, to talk about them.

“Haru-kun,” Hani-sempai said, “I didn't know you were so good with children.”

Haruhi chuckled and stood. “I manage Tamaki-sempai well enough, don't I?” he countered with a smile, and then looked up at Taka. “You were great too,” he said softly.

Taka smiled back, but resisted the blush.

~oOo~

It was a non-costume day when it happened. A relatively normal day by all accounts. Only for it all to be interrupted when Hani-sempai took a bite of cake and instead of cooing over how tasty it was, he wailed in pain. A terrible case of adding injury to insult, as only the day before the twins and Tamaki-sempai had spilled tea on Hani-sempai's stuffed rabbit.

It was still away being washed.

Now, as Taka tackled her cousin onto a couch and forced his mouth open (the attempts by the twins to see what the problem was had seen them get no closer than the length of Hani-sempai's arms), a cavity was revealed.

Renge-chan, with an announcer's microphone for some reason, proclaimed that “this” was what had been “missing” from Hani-sempai's character. “This” being the thing called “moe”.

“I'm fine,” Hani-sempai whimpered.

“Tamaki,” Taka said solemnly as she sat up and looked to the junior who was president of the club.

“Ah, hai, I got it,” Tamaki-sempai answered softly. He coughed politely into his hand, and turned to address the room at large. “Hani-sempai, you're forbidden from eating sweets until your cavity is filled,” he announced apologetically.

“ _Eeh_?!” the small senior cried in distress.

“Additionally, for the time being, everyone in the club must control the amount of snacks being eaten here,” Tamaki-sempai continued solemnly.

“No, Takashi...” Hani-sempai said, eyes wide and brimming with tears. “I don't want snacks to be forbidden. It doesn't... hurt... It doesn't hurt!” he insisted.

Taka simply stood from the couch she had tackled Hani-sempai to, and collected the remains of the cake that Hani-sempai had been eating when the cavity made itself known.

“Stop! That's my cake!” Hani-sempai begged.

“It's forbidden,” Taka said firmly.

“Waah!” Hani-sempai cried, and fell to the floor in horror.

“Thus, cruel as it is, Hani-sempai's hell has begun,” Renge-chan announced solemnly.

Haruhi looked up at his girlfriend, and knew that she was already blaming _herself_ for Hani-sempai's pain and unhappiness, and would likely soon start punishing herself as well. Haruhi took a deep breath, and stepped up to the plate. The Haninozuka heir was a big part of his girlfriend's life, an important person, her best friend since childhood. When Hani-sempai was in pain, so was Taka. When Taka was in pain... so was Haruhi.

“ _Haninozuka_ Mitsukuni-sempai,” Haruhi said, placing emphasis on the senior's family name.

Hani-sempai looked up at him in surprise, though there were still tears in his eyes and his cheek was swollen with the pain.

“You are _stronger_ than this,” Haruhi asserted once he had the shouta's attention. “Didn't you deny _yourself_ for a time? And were you not stronger at the end of it?” he asked. “What is a few days without cake now, when you are older, _stronger_ than you were the _first_ time you did this?”

Hani-sempai's eyes went wide, and then narrowed as his resolve was affirmed into steel as he pulled himself to his feet, wiping the tears from his eyes as he did.

“The pain is nothing,” he said. “I am the Haninozuka heir. I am strong. I will persevere through this trial,” he declared firmly, his eyes locked with Haruhi's. “And I will _never_ forget to brush my teeth again,” he added, a promise in his tone.

The guests applauded the Host whose selling point was his cuteness, as he let it slip away from him in exchange for seriousness, and Haruhi nodded in approval.

“Also, Hani-sempai,” Haruhi added more quietly, practically whispering in the older Host's ear, “you know that Taka-shi is really worried about your cavity? That's why he took your cake away.”

Hani-sempai nodded sadly. “Hai,” he answered, just as softly. “I'll talk to him. I promise.”

Haruhi nodded again, smiled, and straightened, stepping away from his sempai as he did.

~oOo~

The next morning, Taka had her driver take her to school via Haruhi's apartment early enough to be able to give him a lift to school.

“Arigato,” she said, as soon as Haruhi had closed the door and buckled his seatbelt. “For what you said yesterday,” she added quickly for clarification. “Mitsukuni told me.”

“Hani-sempai is an important person to you,” Haruhi answered with a smile. “Therefore, he's important to me too. I'll always do my best for you Taka,” he promised.

Taka smiled gratefully. “Mitsukuni has decided that, until his cavity is filled and fully healed, he will wear his gi at all times to represent that he is dedicated to abstaining from snacks for the sake of his health,” she said.

Haruhi chuckled. “I'm sure his customers will be thrilled,” he noted.

Taka hummed in agreement, and amusement was dancing in her eyes. “His younger brother, Yasuchika, is pleased as well,” she said. “He doesn't approve of Mitsukuni's indulgence, even though he respects him as a fighter and wants to surpass him some day.”

Haruhi blinked as he recalled the sight of Mitsukuni 'going easy' on the punks who had shown up at Kyouya's estate and then the information on the diminutive senior that he'd bribed out of Kyouya.

“That won't be easy,” he said at last.

In the afternoon, at Host Club, there was no theme. To avoid extravagance that could test Mitsukuni's self-discipline, there would be no themes at all until he was completely better. All of this meant that Kyouya was _very_ happy. No cakes and no costumes meant fewer expenses after all, and he _was_ the man in charge of the club's accounts. Making money was something that made him happy. Profits were proof of success, after all.

~oOo~

The _next_ day, Haruhi was on his way to the Host Club when he saw Taka standing with another girl in an out-of-the-way sort of covered walkway. He didn't recognise her as any of Taka's customers, but from the way she was standing, he guessed it was probably a confession.

Haruhi ducked out of sight to give them some privacy, and silently pitied the girl, just a little. She had no way of knowing that Taka was a girl herself after all. And if she wasn't a Host Club customer, or was even unfamiliar with the rumours going around, then she had no way of knowing that the 'boy' she was confessing her feelings to was already in a relationship.

Haruhi listened as the girl spoke to an unresponsive Taka, listened as the girl came to the conclusion herself that Taka couldn't return her feelings because there was someone else already.

When the girl finally ran away, crying softly, Haruhi stepped out.

“Hey,” he said softly.

Taka whipped around to face him, shock in her eyes. “You saw?” she asked, horrified.

Haruhi nodded. “I did,” he answered, and walked up to her. When he was directly in front of her – where the girl from moments before had stood, in fact – Haruhi looked up at his girlfriend and sighed. “I hope I grow more,” he said, and then he grabbed her arm and pulled her down into an embrace. “Because if I don't, I'm going to have to start carrying around a step-ladder so that I can give you hugs when you need them.”

Taka's knees connected with the ground, and they were suddenly closer to the same height. Her arms wrapped around Haruhi's back, and she pressed her face into his shoulder. “Arigato,” she whispered.

“I love you,” Haruhi answered softly as he gently stroked her hair. “I will only leave when you tell me to, and even then I'll probably hang around in case you change your mind.”

“Arigato,” Taka whispered again, and clung to him tightly.

For a few minutes, they just stayed like that, Taka holding tight to Haruhi, Haruhi with his arms around Taka and stroking her hair.

“Do you feel better?” Haruhi asked at last.

Taka nodded.

“Now, before we go to Host Club, I should really ask what Hani-sempai's _favourite_ treats are,” Haruhi said.

“Nani?” Taka asked softly, curiously, as she stood once more.

Haruhi smiled. “Because the baked goods I pay Kyouya-sempai with for information _always_ end up on Hani-sempai's plate. I should make his favourites to eat when his cavity is filled, right?” he suggested.

Taka blinked in surprise.

“And... maybe you'd like to help?” Haruhi suggested.

Taka blinked again, then smiled. “Hai,” she agreed.

A few days later – the day Hani-sempai was finally out of his gi and able to eat cakes again, in fact – that same girl came to the Host Club and quietly announced that she thought Taka's dedication to Hani-sempai was _great_ , as far as reasons for her feelings being rejected went. She proceeded to join Renge in crying “Moe!” as Taka cleaned cream of the short senior's face not five minutes later.

Haruhi and Taka shared a secret smile between the two of them, and waited out the rest of the club day.


	9. Chapter 9

The theme of the day was 'Wonderland', of the 'Alice in' variety. Naturally, the twins had been given the tweedle characters, and after much debate, Hani-sempai was made the white rabbit rather than the Hatter – a position which would have more easily entitled him to eat as much cake as he liked, but which wasn't as cute, and he could always look at his massive 'pocket watch' and declare that it was _time_ for cake.

Kyouya-sempai had taken the role of the Hatter instead – complete with the hat that said 'this size, 10/6', and that was actually going to be put up on the Host Club's website for sale after the photo shoot. Tamaki-sempai was the Knave of Hearts, and while he wouldn't be 'stealing tarts', it was agreed as the most appropriate. After all, the _King_ of Hearts was a _married_ character.

Taka, to 'match' with Hani-sempai, was the March Hare. A role which would, in turn, give her leave to, well, _leave_ Hani-sempai's table and fetch further snacks and refreshments from the great pile of them, which Kyouya-sempai would be guarding.

Haruhi had received the Cheshire Cat costume. The Cheshire Cat, for all his grinning and vanishing, was one of the characters that had given Alice some form of guidance through her adventure, and was a much more appealing character than the Caterpillar would be. The suggestion had been put forth that Haruhi could be 'Alice', but it had been vetoed.

He'd still be wearing the frilly dress for some of the photo-shoot afterwards of course (and might even be done up as the Queen of Hearts), but the guests themselves would approximate to be 'Alice' that day, in their sweet, yellow, fluffy dresses.

Renge-chan had commandeered the Queen of Hearts costume.

Jun-chan and Misa-chan were thrilled, and didn't seem to have enough cameras around the room for the theme. When the guests were no longer being entertained though, and it was just a shoot of the Hosts in their character costumes (with Haruhi changing half-way through the shoot to be 'Alice') both in front of a screen, so that other scenes could be shopped around them, and in a Tea Party set-up, _then_ the the two photography students seemed to be able to get themselves under control and not be running frantically all over the room, trying to take pictures everywhere at once.

Haruhi had to act flirty with Kyouya-sempai for a little bit of the photo-shoot as well though, since so many customers had fantasies of Alice with the Hatter – the characters, rather than the two Hosts that were playing them. After that, he snuggled up to Taka, still in her March Hare costume, and there were more photos taken of that.

“Ah, love triangle!” Renge cried happily. “It will be _perfect_ for the Host Club doujinshi!” she declared.

Haruhi blinked. “We have a doujinshi?” he asked, surprised, though he didn't move from where he was snuggled up (in the fluffy blue dress with the white frilly apron) against Taka. Jun-chan and Misa-chan were taking pictures of Kyouya-sempai and Tamaki-sempai, pouring tea and sharing tarts.

He'd have to join them shortly, but not yet.

“Mm!” Renge-chan answered positively, smiling as she nodded happily. “It's called _Moe Moe Ouran Journal_. I write it, illustrate it, and publish it myself. With _this_ chapter, volume eight will soon be completed and ready for publication!” she declared happily.

“Ah, Renge-chan, please,” Haruhi said with a shake of his head. “I _only_ flirted with Kyouya-sempai for the camera. Taka-shi is the only one who holds my heart.”

“Mori-sempai,” Renge-chan said, re-directing her attention. “How did _watching_ your love flirting with another make you feel?”

“I know that Haruhi is loyal, and will not leave me. I watch every day as he talks with girls. I am no more jealous of his customers than I am of Kyouya-kun, and that is not jealous at all,” Taka answered softly.

Renge-chan stepped back, surprised, and then her eyes got shiny. “Such deep devotion, such unwavering loyalty, such _true love_!” she said happily. “That's even _better_ than a love triangle! Ah, but... I don't think it would be well received by your customers buying my doujinshi,” she pointed out.

Haruhi and Taka both chuckled softly.

“Go ahead and write your complicated love mixes, but,” Haruhi said, and leant forward to whisper.

Renge-chan bent down to listen, not wanting to share the secret.

“Please bear in mind that Kyouya-sempai and Tamaki-sempai are _very_ close, and could _well_ be verging on more. They might be very discreet, or they might not have taken the next step yet, but I believe it is only a matter of time,” Haruhi confided with a slight smile.

Renge-chan's eyes went wide as she looked at Haruhi, then where Kyouya-sempai and Tamaki-sempai were being photographed, and a blush crept up her face. “Truly?” she asked, her voice soft.

“I believe so,” Haruhi answered.

“Kyaa!” she squealed happily.

“Haruhi-kun! We need you in the photo now!” Jun-chan called.

“Hai!” Haruhi answered. He pressed a kiss to Taka's cheek, and then stood.

~oOo~

The club was outdoors again, with specifically Heian era kimono. In the hydrangea garden rather than the sakura grove though. Just for a change of pace. Besides, with the hydrangeas acting as natural screens between each of the Hosts areas where they entertained their guests... the intimacy provided by such 'hiding places' was a hit with the customers.

Taka was under a large haori with Mitsukuni, blindly feeding him soba as her cousin sat on her lap, when she heard Tamaki yell for Haruhi to look out.

Taka quickly but gently pushed Mitsukuni off her lap and stood, already searching for Haruhi as the large haori slipped down from her head to her shoulders.

A mari ball had just struck Haruhi in the chest, and he'd brought his arms up around it on reflex, and then Taka was there.

“Haruhi, are you alright?” she asked softly as she lay her hands on his shoulders.

Haruhi coughed a little, and wheezed as he drew a breath, but then he looked up to her and nodded, a slight smile on his face. “Hai,” he said. “I'm alright. A little winded from the surprise impact, but that will pass,” he promised.

“Irresponsible twins!” Tamaki scolded loudly. “You could have snuffed out Haruhi's flame of life!”

Haruhi rolled his eyes. “It didn't hit me _that_ hard,” he grumbled softly.

Taka smiled, relieved.

“It's not our fault you didn't stop the ball,” Hikaru countered lazily.

“If you can't even play kemari properly,” Kaoru added, and both he and his twin shrugged helplessly.

“You must be some sort of disgrace,” they finished together with teasing grins.

“What?!” Tamaki growled. “Haruhi, the ball please.”

“Iie,” Haruhi answered firmly. “You'd probably kick it like it was a football, with all of your might. That is not the way a mari is supposed to be treated.”

Tamaki pouted.

Haruhi huffed a sigh, and relented, gently lobbing the mari to the blonde. “I have customers coming anyway,” he stated.

“Haruhi...” Taka said softly, and tugged him towards another clump of hydrangeas.

“Hm?” Haruhi hummed in curiosity, even as he smiled up at her, perfectly aware that they were now fairly secluded. “We should have a chaperone, Taka-shi,” he said softly. “Or I might do something... _common_.”

“Common?” Taka repeated with a hint of a smile, and then she bent down a little closer.

Haruhi stretched up on his toes, and then, with his hands on her shoulders, let himself be lifted. At their current height disparity, if they weren't sitting, there needed to be either a lot of bending, or a bit of lifting going on. In this way, their lips could meet so that the little bit of paradise on earth known as the 'kiss' could be exchanged between the two of them.

Taka smiled and sighed happily as they parted. Kissing Haruhi was something she really was enjoying very much.

“Three,” Haruhi whispered into her ear, “two, one -”

“Moe!” came a delighted scream from beyond the bushes.

Taka giggled softly. “We were spied upon?” she asked softly.

“Hai,” Haruhi answered with a rueful smile. “We'd better get back to the customers, for now,” he said.

“I'll drive you home,” Taka promised.

Haruhi gave her a quick little peck on the lips, and slipped from her arms. “Arigato, Taka-shi,” he said.

Taka gave his hand one last squeeze, and then released it so that they could each return to their own separate guest-entertaining spaces.

~oOo~

It turned out that, while Haruhi and Taka had been enjoying their 'private' interlude and entertaining the guests, Tamaki had, indeed, treated the mari as though it were a football and sent it flying up, away, through a window and into the _head_ of the chairman of the school's newspaper.

Kyouya-sempai and Tamaki-sempai together had gone to retrieve the ball and make apologies, only to return with Tamaki-sempai complaining to Kyouya-sempai about refusing to help the paper save their club when they were on the verge of closing at the end of the semester – which was just a week away.

“You watch,” Haruhi cautioned Kyouya-sempai as they headed back to the third music room after photos had been taken by Jun-chan and Misa-chan. “He'll pout, not get changed, petulantly explain his reasoning, bring out the puppy-dog eyes, and we'll all end up folding to his demands, however much of a bad idea it is.”

“Ne, Haruhi,” the twins said, and each lay an arm over one of his shoulders. “You seem to be accumulating experience points.”

Haruhi brushed them off. “Of course,” he answered them. “You two aren't the _only_ ones who noticed how disturbingly similar Tamaki-sempai is to my dad. Believe me, I have a _lot_ of experience,” he said, and reached for the doorknob of the music room.

It hadn't taken them long to get there, even with Tamaki-sempai walking along behind them all with a black cloud over his head.

“But, I'm not going to stick around for that,” Haruhi said firmly, and headed straight for the change rooms. “I still have homework and grocery shopping to do, and Taka-shi promised to give me a ride home,” he added the last with a smile. “Ten yen from the two of you tomorrow if I'm right?” he asked with a cheeky grin.

“Deal!” the twins agreed with grins of their own, then frowned. “Ten yen... where are we going to find change that small?” they asked each other, stumped.

Haruhi laughed as he ducked into the change room. Heian era theme was okay, but it had a lot of layers to it, and that much fabric started to feel heavy after a while.

The next morning, the twins had apparently found a way to get such small change as a measly ten yen, as they both flicked such at him when he arrived to class.

“What conditions is Kyouya-sempai giving the newspaper club before they're allowed to do a cover on us?” Haruhi asked as he pocketed the two coins.

“They stay away from our customers,” Hikaru listed.

“They don't ask for private interviews – and we don't give them either,” Kaoru continued.

“That's all,” they finished together.

Haruhi nodded in acceptance, and sat down for class.

During the lunch break, Kyouya-sempai tracked Haruhi down to make sure he knew about the conditions for the newspaper club's interactions with the Hosts.

“Also, Haruhi-san, in advance, I apologise for what Tamaki-kun will do today,” he said, and then was gone.

Haruhi wondered what that was about, but it was made clear later. He could hardly believe his ears when, after class, Tamaki-sempai announced that they would play 'commoner games' for the newspaper club to cover. Games that he hadn't played since he was in elementary school. Then again, there _was_ something fun about it, in a slightly nostalgic, but still completely ridiculous kind of way.

The idea was, apparently, to promote a 'friendly image' for the paper and 'grab the hearts of the readers'. According to Tamaki-sempai. The front page, according to his vision, would be of the Host Club enjoying the out-doors and commoner games, while a 'certain commoner' got to enjoy games of his childhood as well.

Then he got back to the game, and caught Kyouya-sempai moving slightly when he shouldn't have been, according to the game, and called him up to link pinky fingers as per the rules. Kyouya-sempai, however, had been at the back of the group, where he could supervise everything. With him now at the front, with his back to the group, it provided an opening for the newspaper club.

“Fujioka-san, right?” the club's chairman asked.

“Hai,” Haruhi agreed.

“May I ask just a few questions?”

“I don't promise answers, but I suppose it isn't a _private_ interview,” he allowed carefully with a nod of his head.

“Why did you join this club?”

“For the social aspect of it,” Haruhi answered simply. “No other club promotes chit-chat as much as the Host Club.”

“You're the special scholarship student, right?”

Haruhi shrugged and nodded. That was fairly well known around the campus, so there was no point in denying it.

“So, in other words, the fact that you're a member of this club, therefore, just means that you're the Suou family's display of power.”

“Incorrect,” Haruhi stated.

“Can you tell us about Suou's _true_ self? Behind the scenes?”  
“Iie,” Haruhi answered simply. “I can't. Because he doesn't have one.”

“Then what?” the newspaper chairman asked, confused. “Do you really think high school students like them are _enjoying_ this?”

Haruhi shrugged again. “It's a game they've never played before,” he pointed out. “It's new and diverting.”

“There's no way that could be!” insisted the newspaper guy.

Haruhi shrugged. “It's ridiculous, but actually, even I'm enjoying it,” he said with a slight smile, and as Tamaki-sempai had his back turned and it was 'safe' to do so, Haruhi left the newspaper guy to continue 'sneaking' up on Tamaki-sempai.

Next, they played Kankeri, a modified version of hide-and-seek, where the person who was 'it' (Kyouya-sempai, in this case) would have to find a kicked can before he could start counting and go looking for the other players. Tamaki-sempai kicked the can – and again, it hit the newspaper chairman in the head, but this time after bouncing around off a few trees before it clocked him – and then dashed off into the rose maze.

Kyouya-sempai crouched over the can, and started to count.

The newspaper club left, their chairman complaining as he went.

The rest of the Hosts disappeared as well, but _they_ all disappeared _together_. Kyouya-sempai included, once the newspaper club weren't looking. They would be getting to the newspaper club's 'office' slightly in advance of (or at approximately the same time as) the newspaper club members themselves.

Hikaru and Kaoru had made a move in that direction from the moment the can was kicked, to make absolutely _certain_ they were _in the room_ to greet the newspaper club. Kyouya would follow them directly. Haruhi, Taka, and Hani-sempai would check out windows as they went to keep an eye on where Tamaki-sempai had hidden for the game. They'd come for him after.

There were a few things to sort out before that though. Things that Tamaki-sempai probably wouldn't like. Then again, Tamaki-sempai was probably the only person who hadn't heard the questions Haruhi was asked, and Haruhi – based on what the twins had told him of the paper itself – had figured out where such a line of questioning could be headed. Just as the rest of the club had.

“Hmm...” Hikaru hummed when the doors were slammed open, revealing him and his twin sitting, front and centre, on a couple of desks.

“So it was something like this after all,” Kaoru said plainly.

“You two...”

“Well,” Hikaru said, a dangerous expression on his face. “It was kind of obvious.”

“Tono is the only one not aware of it yet,” Kaoru added, the _same_ cut-throat expression on his face, that looked even more sinister when he narrowed his eyes and continued. “That man's pretty slow when it comes to things about him.”

“Let me say this,” Hikaru said firmly. “We won't go easy on you if you touch Tono.”

“Are you prepared to face the Hitachiin and every other club member's families as enemies?” Kaoru asked, almost pleasantly – if it were not for the expression on his face.

“So Suou is using his parents' power and giving out orders like that, right?” the chairman asked nervously.

“You're wrong,” Hani-sempai said plainly, announcing his presence behind the chairman. And with him, Taka and Haruhi, who stood on either side of the diminutive senior. “Tama-chan wouldn't do that. It's just, we all care for Tama-chan, you know?”

“Even though he is a hopeless idiot,” Kyouya-sempai added from where _he_ was perched on top of a stack of newspapers off to one side. His tone was actually _fond_.

Haruhi made a mental note to tell Renge-chan about the whole thing. She'd _love_ this for the next volume of her doujinshi. There were still more important things to attend to right now though.

“And?” Hikaru asked.

“What are you going to do?” Kaoru finished.

“Stop doing these things already,” Hani-sempai urged gently.

“Damn it,” the newspaper chairman hissed. “It's not just Suou any more. I'm going to destroy _all_ of you!”

“Good luck with that,” Haruhi commented archly. “Seriously, how? Your club will be cut down next semester, and anybody who looks at your record of 'journalistic integrity' will laugh you out of the interview office, however much money you have, and whoever you're related to.”

“Indeed,” Kyouya-sempai agreed as he circled the chairman's desk and picked up the first-aid kit he'd given the previous day. “There is also the question of what to do,” and he turned over the kit, pressed the bottom, and a secret compartment popped open. “... About this disc, which has been listening and recording everything you have said since yesterday,” he said in that tone of voice that he reserved for veiled (or not so veiled) threats.

“Chairman!”

“We can't do this any more!”

“This is the part where it gets mentioned that, between the Ootori and the Hitachiin, it would be an easy thing for the president of your father's newspaper company to change,” Kyouya-sempai said as he casually walked up to where the chairman had fallen to his knees. “But we're not like you,” he continued. “And we don't make threats like that. We're fundamentally different, and what we _strive_ _for_ is fundamentally different.”

After a bit of talking/intimidating/explaining-how-things-had-to-be, they all went off to collect Tamaki-sempai.

~oOo~

“Haruhi,” Ranka said softly when his son returned to the apartment just a few days before the end of the first semester, and the beginning of the summer break. “You remember I told you about my promotion?”

“Hai,” Haruhi agreed as he set his bag down and pulled his shoes off.

“How the promotion meant that there would be times I'd be sent on business trips?” Ranka pressed.

“Hai,” Haruhi agreed again, and moved into the kitchen to start on their dinner.

“I'm being sent on one,” Ranka stated. “For a good portion of your summer-semester break.”

Haruhi froze where he stood at the counter. Then he relaxed minutely. “Well,” he said, “today Taka-shi invited me to go with the Morinozuka and Haninozuka families on a vacation to Switzerland for the break,” he said. “I said I would have to talk it over with you, but I _do_ need to meet Taka-shi's family soon. The meeting has been repeatedly put off due to the ridiculousness of the Host Club, and many homework assignments and tests that required study.”

Ranka sighed. “I'd thought of sending you to Misuzu-chi's pension in Karuizawa,” he said, “you'd have been able to put the summer job on your resume, and while Misuzu-chi can't pay much, he'd be able to take care of you until I got back.”

“I like that idea too,” Haruhi agreed with a smile at his father, “but I finally got my passport after the Host Club went to Okinawa, and I _do_ need to get to know Taka-shi's family.”

Ranka sighed again. “I guess I don't have to call Misuzu-chi about taking you in for while I'm gone then,” he said with a smile. “And I'm sure that the Morinozuka and the Haninozuka families will take good care of my precious son.”

Haruhi turned slightly to smile at his dad. “I'm sure too,” he agreed. “But Tou-san? Stay away from my suitcase. I don't want to find anything in there that I didn't pack myself.”

Ranka's shoulders slumped a little unhappily. “Oh, no fun,” he whined jokingly.

“It's _Switzerland_ with my possible future in-laws,” Haruhi pointed out firmly, and turned back to making dinner. “It's important that I represent myself to them properly, _as myself_ , not with your wardrobe-alterations throughout.”

Ranka pouted. “But you always look so _cute_ in frills!” he insisted  
“ _No_ frills,” Haruhi said firmly. “I'll probably pack a nice dress or two, but nothing frilly. The Haninozuka family has been dedicated to martial arts for generations, and the Morinozuka family are their ancestral vassals, so again, very serious. Frills wouldn't suit, besides, I don't really like them for myself, however cute I know they can make me look.”

Ranka sighed but conceded.

“Maybe call Misuzu-chi anyway,” Haruhi suggested. “I'd like to see him, and maybe Taka-shi would like to visit Karuizawa after Switzerland as well. How long will your business trip last?”

“I'll be back for the last three days of your summer break only,” Ranka said softly. “I'm sorry it's not more.”

“It's alright,” Haruhi answered. “If the trip to Switzerland doesn't take up until then, I'll call Misuzu-chi and ask myself if he could use a helper around his pension until you get back. I'm sure he'll let me stay in exchange for chores, ne?”

“Un!” Ranka agreed happily.

~oOo~

“I talked it over with my dad,” Haruhi said quietly as he sat down with Taka and Mitsukuni after the guests had left. “He's going on a business trip for most of the semester break himself, so...”

“So if you come with us to Switzerland, he won't have to worry about you being alone in the house,” Taka finished with a nod.

Haruhi nodded as well.

“Yay! Haru-kun is coming with us to Switzerland!” Mitsukuni cheered. “Isn't that great, Takashi?”

Taka nodded silently, and smiled as Haruhi laced their fingers together under the table.

“Who else from your families will be coming?” Haruhi asked.

“Mou,” Mitsukuni pouted a little, and hesitated.

Taka knew why too. Their 'holiday' to Switzerland _wasn't_ going to be an excursion into Swiss chocolate. At least, not entirely. Their families were meeting with the Swiss Army, something they did every five years.

“My otouto, Satoshi,” Taka answered when she saw Mitsukuni's reluctance. “Mitsukuni's otouto, Yasuchika, and both of our parents will all be there.”

Satoshi was being introduced to this aspect of what the family did because, someday, he would be the one who would be doing this himself. He was to inherit the family name after all. That was why he was being taken. Because Satoshi was being taken to Switzerland, Yasuchika could not be left behind. Neither of the younger siblings knew, yet, the reasons behind their being brought along, however. The previous trip to visit the Swiss Army, they had been left at home.

“Chika-chan doesn't approve of me,” Mitsukuni said softly. “The Haninozuka- _do_ is, you know, very much about self-restraint. I'm... not very good at that,” he admitted. Then he turned his big brown eyes on Haruhi. “Even though I'm the _best_ fighter in the whole clan Haru-kun!” he insisted, before turning back to contemplation of his bunny. “Chika-chan... takes the family _do_ very seriously.”

The Haninozuka- _do_. _Do_. Like bushido, judo, kendo, and even chado... the _way_ of something. Bushido was the 'way of the warrior'. Judo, the 'gentle way'. Kendo, the 'way of the sword'. Chado, the 'way of tea'. Dramatically different from the first three, but still... and the _do_ of the Haninozuka was... well, _complicated_ , for one thing. But they _did_ preach control over self-interests, to the point of trying to attain a state of selflessness.

Neither of the Haninozuka sons, Taka knew, were very good at that, but for _vastly_ different reasons.

Where Mitsukuni indulged himself decadently, and did not apply very much (if, indeed, _any_ ) self-discipline, Yasuchika was selfish in his refusal to accept that his older brother was still going to be the head of the family, even with the way he _was_ so decadently self-indulgent.

He also wore glasses that he didn't need, just to make it so that he looked less like the brother he had so little respect for.

“They got along well again, for a while, recently,” Taka told Haruhi softly. “When Mitsukuni had the cavity,” she added for specification when Haruhi looked at her with curiosity.

“Well,” Haruhi said, “maybe a holiday together will help. Maybe.”

Taka smiled again. “With you there, it just might,” she agreed.

Haruhi blushed a little at the praise.

“But actually, it's a business trip, not a holiday,” Taka admitted. “We'll only be in Switzerland for two, three days at most.”

Mitsukuni nodded. “We invited you so you'd get to meet our families! Get to see what we do outside of school!” he said cheerfully. “But... Yeah. Sorry Haru-kun!”

“That's alright,” Haruhi answered with that serene smile of his, the one he wore when confronted with something that would have ruffled anybody else, but that he would calmly take in his stride. “I guess I'll have to call Misuzu-chi in Karuizawa, that's all.”

“Who's Misuzu-chi?” Mitsukuni asked curiously.

“He used to work at the same okama bar where my dad does, but now he owns and runs a pension up in Karuizawa. If I weren't going with you to Switzerland, I'd be going straight to Karuizawa instead. Misuzu-chi will be able to find use for an extra pair of hands around the place, and my dad won't have to worry about me,” Haruhi explained.

“Both our families have houses at Karuizawa,” Taka stated. “You could stay there with us,” she offered hopefully.

Haruhi smiled up at her. “That would be nice too,” he agreed.


	10. Chapter 10

Taka collected Haruhi from his apartment in her limo. Or more accurately, her _family_ collected Haruhi from his apartment in _their_ limo. Taka was the one who came to his door, rang the doorbell, and walked Haruhi down to where the stretched Rolls was waiting, but there were three other people waiting inside it apart from the driver.

Confronted with this, Haruhi decided that the best policy would be to act in ignorance of Taka's true gender until told otherwise by Taka herself. After all, she _was_ supposed to be masquerading as a boy still.

Haruhi had thought they'd have the ride to the airport to discuss that, actually. It seemed he was in error. That was a little annoying, and Haruhi blamed it completely on the population of Ouran at large. There had seemed to always be _someone_ near enough to be able to overhear their conversation whenever Haruhi had been trying to ask Taka about the matter.

“Haruhi, this is my father, Morinozuka Akira,” Taka presented softly.

Haruhi bowed in his seat to the man seated across from him. “Morinozuka-sama,” he greeted politely. “It is an honour to meet you.”

The tall (even seated, it was clear that the man was _long_ ) man nodded in silent return.

“My mother, Morinozuka Shizune,” Taka continued.

Haruhi again bowed from his seat, this time to the elegant woman seated beside her husband. “It is a pleasure, Morinozuka-sama,” Haruhi said.

“Shizune, please,” she said with a soft smile. “Too many 'Morinozuka-sama's will just be confusing. May I call you Haruhi-kun?” she asked.

Haruhi nodded. “I would be very happy if you would, Shizune-sama,” he answered with a smile.

“And my otouto, Satoshi,” Taka finished.

“Hi!” Satoshi said cheerfully, and raised a hand in greeting. “You'll call me Satoshi-kun, won't you Haruhi-sempai?”

Haruhi smiled. “Hai, if you like, Satoshi-kun,” he answered happily.

When they reached the airport, Taka and Mitsukuni introduced Haruhi to Haninozuka Yorihisa-sama, Mitsukuni's father. Haruhi had bowed deeply, aware that the Haninozuka family _were_ of the nobility, not just the stinkingly rich like so many of those attending Ouran. He'd bowed deeply to Mitsukuni's mother as well, Haninozuka Himawari-sama, and not _quite_ as deeply (though still very respectfully) to Yasuchika.

Mitsukuni got a bow as well, along with a friendly smile and a 'thank you for inviting me' gift all wrapped up in a sensible-looking green cloth square. It proved to be home-baked cookies.

“They're not sweet,” Mitsukuni said with surprise when he'd bitten into one, and swallowed that bite.

“No,” Haruhi agreed with a soft chuckle. “They're _healthy_ cookies, though I did give _some_ of them a chocolate back, so they'd taste better.”

“ _Healthy_ cookies?” Yasuchika asked, his tone a little derogatory even as he leant in a little curiously.

“Un,” Haruhi said with a nod. “I'm sure that, if you asked, Hani-sempai would share with you,” he suggested.

Mitsukuni brightened considerably at the suggestion, having been unsure about these cookies that weren't sweet. “Hai!” he agreed quickly. “Do you want one, Chika-chan?” he asked, and offered the pile of cookies in their cloth to his (taller) little brother.

Every member of the Haninozuka and Morinozuka families watched with bated breath as Yasuchika hesitated, then finally, slowly, reached out to take one of the cookies.

“Tou-san, Kaa-san, would you like to try them too?” Mitsukuni offered. “Ah! And Akari-oji and Shizune-okasan too! Sato-chan! Takashi! Um, if that's alright, Haru-kun?”

Haruhi nodded. “Of course,” he agreed easily.

And with that, _everybody_ present (save Haruhi, as he'd baked them) reached for the little pile and tried them.

“Hm? They're not sweet, but they _are_ good,” Shizune said happily after she'd tasted one.

“I agree,” Yorihisa-sama said with a smile. “Fujioka-san, would you be willing to part with the recipe?”

“Certainly,” Haruhi agreed.

“I might indulge in taking these with my tea from now on,” Yorihisa-sama said with an appreciative nod.

Yasuchika looked up at his father, completely scandalised, when the word 'indulge' had crossed his lips.

The serious, intimidating Haninozuka patriarch chuckled at the expression on his youngest son's face. “Yes, Yasuchika, you heard me right. The Haninozuka clan have preached self-discipline because, for so long, we did not achieve true mastery of our fighting style without it. Your brother, however, has proven that he _has_ mastered it, even with time taken to enjoy life. After much consideration, and several conversations, I even believe that it is _because_ he enjoys his life so well that he is so exemplary.”

Yasuchika continued to stare at his father in shock, but he wasn't the only one. Satoshi was wide-eyed as well, and all three of the other adults had raised eyebrows. It seemed that _they_ were not privy to these 'conversations' that Yorihisa-sama had mentioned.

“I don't think that Hani-sempai actually _indulges_ though,” Haruhi offered. “It's just that... being sweet, that's who he _is_ , just as much as he _is_ a Haninozuka.”

“Mitsukuni- _do_ , eh?” Himawari-sama suggested with an amused smile. “That sounds about right. A warrior would be balanced, not _just_ a warrior.”

“Nii-san is an _alien_ ,” Yasuchika grumbled. “Not a _warrior_.”

“Haninozuka-sama, Morinozuka-sama,” a flight attendant said politely as Satoshi struck Yasuchika over the head with his shinai for muttering rude things. “Your jet is ready, if you wish to board now.”

~oOo~

“Does Chika-chan hate me?” Hani-sempai asked when the three high school students had been shown their ensuites and had converged in their shared lounge space again.

Haruhi had spent a good portion of the _long_ flight, and then the drive from the airport to the hotel, getting to know various members of his sempai's immediate family.

“No,” he answered. “But the amount of cake you can put away, and Usa-chan, creeps him out,” Haruhi admitted.

“Usa-chan does?” Hani-sempai asked, surprised and with huge eyes as he held the stuffed pink rabbit tighter to his chest.

Haruhi nodded. “Something about three cakes for dessert every night, receiving telepathic signals from your rabbit, and midnight cake feasts?” he said with an eyebrow pointedly raised at the senior.

“Midnight cake feasts?” Taka added with mild censure in her tone.

Hani-sempai blushed a little, even as he smiled sheepishly at his taller cousin. “Just one night a week,” he answered. “A special snack time for me and Usa-chan.”

“For how long?” Taka questioned.

“Mou... a while,” Hani-sempai admitted.

“Did you remember to brush your teeth after?” Taka asked solemnly.

Hani-sempai blushed deeply and ducked his head. “Iie,” he admitted. “I guess... _that's_ why I got my cavity, ne?”

“A case could be made,” Haruhi agreed wryly. “Look, Hani-sempai, this rift between you and your brother boils down, ultimately, to which you value more. Cake, or your relationship with him.”

“... Chika-chan is more important than cake,” Hani-sempai decided at last. “I really, _really_ like cake, but... I care about Chika-chan more,” he said softly. “Does that mean I can't have cake any more?”

Haruhi shook his head. “Iie,” he said kindly. “But try cutting back a little. The sheer volume you're consuming is what terrifies him the most.” Haruhi paused a moment in thought. “Apart from the telepathic signals from Usa-chan,” he added with a weak smile.

“And I should talk to Chika-chan,” Hani-sempai said. “Shouldn't I? That's the advice you're always giving your designators, Haru-kun, when they're having a problem with someone.”

Haruhi nodded.

“Takashi?” Mitsukuni asked.

“First year, before the effort and Tamaki,” she answered.

Mitsukuni nodded. “I'll try that,” he promised. “I... also miss Chika-chan.”

“I'm sure he misses you too, Hani-sempai,” Haruhi reassured him. “But you're habits also frighten him, so go gently.”

“Hai.”

~oOo~

On their second day in Switzerland (after _most_ of them had adjusted to the change in time-zones), Haruhi was invited to spend time with Taka and Shizune-sama while the Haninozukas in their entirety – as well as Morinozuka-sama and Satoshi-kun – met with certain members of parliament at the Bundeshaus.

“I want to get to know my future son-in-law,” Shizune-sama said once it was just the three of them left at the breakfast table, having already claimed Taka and Haruhi for her companions for the day.

Haruhi bowed in his seat. “I would be honoured,” he answered.

Shizune-sama had then declared that they would go _out_ – shopping, and then lunch together – and Haruhi had begged permission to change into something more suitable. Ten minutes after receiving such permission, Haruhi had returned in a no-nonsense olive-green pencil skirt that went to his knees, a cream blouse, a bolero that matched the skirt, and a warm-looking scarf. He was also wearing stockings.

Shizune-sama had stared, openly, for a moment.

“This way,” Haruhi said with a smile, “no one will wonder why you're asking about me marrying your child, as long as you don't say anything gendered.”

At which Shizune-sama had burst out laughing, utterly delighted.

“Did you know about this?” she asked Taka.

Taka nodded slightly. “I told you that Haruhi was an okama,” she said softly.

“So you did,” Shizune-sama agreed with a smile and one last chuckle. “Alright, then I have an ally. Haruhi-kun, you are going to help me take Taka _dress shopping_! After all, she must be ready for the _denouement_ at the end of the school year.”

 _Denouement_ being a literature catch-phrase applied to mystery novels as the moment when the detective would explain exactly how the evidence pointed to the solution. The moment when the jig was up, the mystery solved, the secret told to everybody. Haruhi was glad that he had elected to take a literature course that focused on crime novels as one of his electives, or he wouldn't have known that. Every little bit that helped him learn more about legal systems and figuring out the truth of things would help. Besides, some day _he_ might decide to write novels about cases he'd handled, though probably not.

“Something blue,” Haruhi said as he looked up at his girlfriend, a slight smile on his lips as he watched her blush slightly under his scrutiny. “A dark, midnight sort of blue, or else smoky tones if you like another colour,” he suggested.

Taka nodded, still blushing, in assent.

Shizune-sama clapped her hands happily. “Excellent taste, Haruhi-kun,” she praised.

~oOo~

Upon returning from Switzerland, the two seniors were permitted to travel unchaperoned with Haruhi to Karuizawa. Shizune-sama had said that she might drop in on them now and then, however, and quietly requested that Haruhi _not_ accept Taka's offer to stay in their Karuizawa house together when there wasn't a chaperone. For propriety's sake, even if no-one _else_ knew that to be the reason.

Haruhi had accepted Shizune-sama's request on the spot, been permitted to use the phone that was in the room (having left the mobile he'd been given by the twins in his luggage), and called Misuzu-chi to ask about having a room in exchange for helping out around the pension. Misuzu-chi had been thrilled at the idea, and welcomed him warmly when he arrived.

Apart from a room for Haruhi though, Misuzu-chi had _one_ other room that wasn't booked. A silent exchange passed between Taka and Hani-sempai – the sort possible because of their long friendship – as they stood in the foyer.

“Ne, Takashi, why don't you take the room here? You'll be closer to Haru-kun, and you'll have more opportunity for some private time, just the two of you! Of course, I'll visit often, as I'll be staying at the house my family have here, ne?” Hani-sempai suggested.

Taka smiled slightly in gratitude, and nodded.

Later that same day, after Haruhi and Taka were settled in at the pension and Hani-sempai had settled at his family's vacation house and returned _to_ the pension, the _rest_ of the Host Club showed up.

In a helicopter.

While Haruhi was hanging out the just-washed linens to dry.

He was _not_ impressed. Especially when Tamaki-sempai leant out the side of the helicopter and yelled into a speaker about coming to 'rescue' him.

They'd had a _little_ warning. Tamaki-sempai had conference-called the other members of the Host Club (Haruhi was grateful that Tamaki-sempai didn't know about his cell), so they knew that the rest of the club _was_ coming. They even knew _why_ – Tamaki-sempai's imagination had run away with him again, imagining the worst had befallen Haruhi when he couldn't contact him at his apartment. It was just a shame that Tamaki-sempai hadn't been able to be talked out of coming to check out the situation for himself.

“It's the holidays,” Haruhi explained to Tamaki-sempai flatly. “I'm entitled to do what I _want_ to do, without having to report to you. Thank you for the unwarranted concern, now please either order something to eat and behave as a respectable customer, or leave.”

As one, Tamaki-sempai, Hikaru, and Kaoru all sat down together at a free table. Kyouya-sempai more calmly followed their example, requested tea, and as Haruhi went to fetch it he could hear the older boy explaining to the other three exactly the circumstances.

Kyouya's information network was _scary_ sometimes.

When Tamaki-sempai decided that, as _they_ could also do what _they_ wanted with the holiday, then they would all stay at the pension as guests. Haruhi was glad to be able to shoot him down.

“There was only _one_ free room this morning, and Taka-shi has since taken it,” he informed them, barely able to keep the smirk off his face as he did.

“Eh?” the twins and Tamaki-sempai exclaimed.

“Hani-sempai isn't staying as well?” Hikaru asked.  
“Mori-sempai and Hani-sempai are hardly ever separated,” Kaoru agreed.

“Mmn,” Hani-sempai said with a shake of his head. “Takashi is the one Haru-kun is dating. They should be together. I really only came to Karuizawa with them to keep an eye on Takashi for our families, and because I'd be a bit lonely at home. Even with Chika-chan.”

“Oh,” the trio answered softly.

~oOo~

Tamaki and the twins were already over at the pension, having breakfast – being waited on by Haruhi. Taka was a little annoyed at them for that, though more so with Tamaki. He'd arrived even _before_ breakfast was being served.

Misuzu-chi, Haruhi had told her, hadn't minded entertaining the boy with telling him all about the different foods that were available at the pension. They were matched in enthusiasm and inclination to be _very_ early risers, it seemed.

That didn't stop Taka from being irked.

It seemed that for anybody _not_ in the Host Club, Tamaki had an excellent sense for providing a romantic atmosphere, for even helping (in his own, convoluted way) in mending relationships that were lacking it. Yet for her and Haruhi, he was acting more like a wedge between them without apparently being _aware_ of it.

Taka sipped at her tea as calmly as she could, knowing perfectly well that, while breakfast was on, Haruhi was going to be working for Misuzu-chi. Pestering him would be counter-productive to him getting off sooner to spend time with her. Another reason she was irked with the other Hosts present, as they _were_ slowing Haruhi down in his duties.

“Good day!” a voice called as the door opened, and the bell over it jangled at the disturbance. “Arai Grocery here!”

“Hai,” Misuzu-chi answered. “Thank you very much. Oh? Are you a new part-timer? A high school student?” he asked.

“Hai. I'm helping out my family's business for the vacation.”

“My! How refreshing!” Misuzu-chi lauded happily. “Haruhi-kun! Please bring these to the refrigerator, okay?” he called.

Taka watched as Haruhi extricated himself from the twins and headed for Misuzu-chi and the delivery boy.

“Haruhi?” the boy questioned as he bent so that he could look past Misuzu-chi. “As in, Fujioka Haruhi?” he asked, as his hat fell off.

“Arai-kun?” Haruhi answered in surprised, and blinked a few times. Then he shook himself and lifted the box from the other boy's arms. “Excuse me,” he said, and carried the box away to the kitchen.

To Taka's ears, those two little words had been said a bit _too_ calmly.

“Hmm? You know Haruhi-kun?” Misuzu-chi questioned the delivery boy.

Tamaki, the twins, and even Taka were all listening in carefully. Taka was more subtle about it though. She had lots of practice in sitting silently and letting the words of other people reach her, whereas Tamaki and the twins were very loud, and so had to get up close and be very obvious in their interest to hear even a word.

“We haven't seen each other since middle school graduation,” the boy, Arai-san apparently, answered with a slight shake of his head and a shrug, an embarrassed blush staining his cheeks.

“I don't call that friends then,” Hikaru said firmly, yet dismissively. “I call that a former middle school classmate. Especially since meeting him _now_ is the first we've ever heard of him. If he were someone important to Haruhi, he'd have been mentioned by now.”

“Eh?” the boy asked, clearly confused by the comment.

“Arai-kun, these boys are classmates of Haruhi-kun,” Misuzu-chi explained.

“Well, _we_ are,” Kaoru corrected with a gesture between himself and his brother. “Tamaki-sempai is the next year up,” he continued, and indicated the blonde standing over their shoulders.

“Pleased to meet you,” Arai-san answered with a slight bow. “But, if you will excuse me, I should really get back to my deliveries. Fujioka-kun... apparently doesn't want to see me.”

“No! Stay! Haruhi-kun is just a serious worker. I'm sure he'd be glad to talk with a friend from middle school for a little while!” Misuzu-chi protested.

“Not this time, Misuzu-chi,” Haruhi himself corrected as he returned from the kitchen. “Though I thank you for the opportunity to catch up, I would _much_ rather spend time with Taka-shi.”

Taka smiled a little at those words, and a small bundle of tension that she hadn't realised was gathering at the base of her neck loosened.

“No hard feelings, Arai-kun,” Haruhi said as he approached the group. “I say this because I don't want to make _you_ uncomfortable,” he stated plainly.

Arai-san blushed a bit, and ducked his head. “A-arigato,” he stuttered a little, then bent to pick up his fallen cap. “Sumimasen, but really, I'd better keep going,” he said, and hurried out the door.

“Haruhi,” the twins said. “What was that?”

“I rejected Arai-kun's affections in the last week of middle school,” Haruhi said plainly.

“Eh?!” an extra voice chorused with Tamaki and the twins. It seemed that Mitsukuni and Kyouya had arrived.

“When everybody was sitting their tests to apply to the high schools of their choice,” Haruhi explained. “He asked if I thought relationships could work between people attending different high schools, I said that it depended on the couple. He got specific, I answered in the negative, as I did not feel the same way about him. That's all there was to it,” Haruhi stated.

And, really, that _was_ all there was to it.

When Misuzu-chi let Haruhi off to spend the rest of the day how he liked, Taka enjoyed being escorted around Karuizawa by her boyfriend, just the two of them. Or, ostensibly just the two of them. The Host Club wasn't _actually_ all that good at staying out of sight as they stalked the couple on their date.

There was a thunderstorm the next day, and Haruhi buried himself in Taka's arms throughout it, hiding away. Fortunately, Misuzu-chi only requested Haruhi help out at breakfast and with laundry, both were well and truly out of the way by the time the storm had rolled in.

The other Hosts had also opted to remain indoors once the inclement weather made its presence known to all and sundry. They were down stairs playing a board game that had been brought out of Misuzu-chi's stores for just such an occasion, and Mitsukuni made sure none of the other Hosts interrupted the couple's “alone time.”

Days passed, though it didn't feel like as much time had gone by as really had, and Ranka-san arrived in Karuizawa. He was there to thank Misuzu-chi for taking care of his son, and to take said son home again. The rest of the Hosts took that as their cue to head back to their homes and families as well. Taka got a wonderful kiss goodbye and a whispered promise that she would see her boyfriend in a couple of days when school started again.

He'd be busy cleaning the apartment of the dust that would have surely gathered in his absence, and doing important shopping, until then.

Taka smiled and nodded silently in acceptance.


	11. Chapter 11

It was the last day of vacation before the new semester would begin, and Haruhi knew that he was staring. But really, could he be blamed? After all, Kyouya-sempai was the last person he'd expected to see at a Regional Product Expo in the Izumi Shopping District staring murderously at the sign that told what was on each floor.

“That Tamaki,” Kyouya-sempai growled. “He's dead.”

Ah, and suddenly it all made sense, all the way up to Kyouya-sempai's less-than-immaculately-combed hair. A very slight smirk was all Haruhi allowed onto his face, rather than breaking out into the gales of laughter those four little words inspired.

“Ne, Kyouya-sempai, there's a sale on murder weapons on the third floor,” he offered cheekily as he walked up to his sempai.

“Haruhi,” Kyouya-sempai noted with surprise.

“I'd ask what you were doing here,” Haruhi continued, “but I did hear you just avowing to kill Tamaki-sempai, which I think really explains it completely. Have you eaten, or did he drag you out of bed while you weren't even wholly conscious?”

“Ah, the latter,” Kyouya-sempai answered.

Haruhi shook his head. “Come on then,” he offered. “The food court isn't far. You can get something to eat there.”

“The blonde fool neglected to equip me with my wallet or phone when he forced clothes on me,” Kyouya stated.

“You can pay me back,” Haruhi answered breezily, waving the objection away. “Do you want to borrow my phone to call for a car, or will you stick it out and look around now that you're here?” he asked as he turned to head for the food court.

“I'll get Tamaki to pay it back ten times over,” Kyouya-sempai growled dangerously.

Haruhi's lips twitched. “That works too,” he agreed as he fought laughter. He was used to calm, collected, cool Kyouya-sempai. The well-groomed boy who took your money, no, who _let you give him_ your money, with a benevolent smile. Haruhi would even go so far as to think they were probably friends. This was a whole new side of the older teen though, and since the murderous intent wasn't directed at _him_ , Haruhi was finding it quite amusing.

Then, as they were riding the escalator up to the food court, Kyouya's stomach growled, and Haruhi lost the battle, just for a moment. A short burst of laughter sprang from his lips before he clamped them firmly shut.

“Something large and filling it is,” Haruhi said with carefully restrained cheer as he looked back at his sempai.

Kyouya-sempai looked around the food court once they were off the escalator, and headed for the franchised burger shop.

“Ano, Kyouya-sempai, we'll get more food that is healthier if we go there instead,” Haruhi said quickly, way-laying Kyouya-sempai from his chosen course and pointing to an Indian takeaway just across the food court from the burger place.

“It isn't more expensive?” Kyouya-sempai asked. “You don't have that much money on you, right?”

Haruhi chuckled. “Actually, the Indian is cheaper, and what I can't eat, I can get a plastic container for and take home,” he explained.

Kyouya-sempai nodded in acceptance, and they altered course.

“How are you with spices, Kyouya-sempai?” Haruhi asked.

“Spicy food is my favourite,” Kyouya-sempai admitted with a slight smile. “I don't have much occasion to eat it though.”

They ordered, the man behind the counter offered a complimentary yoghurt to go with the extra-hot madras curry that Kyouya-sempai ordered, they accepted the little tub, and then took the tray to find a table where they could sit and eat.

“So,” Haruhi said as he mixed his lamb sag with his rice. “I don't think even an Ootori could get away with murder, particularly if you're planning to kill a Suou. Revenge is definitely on your 'to do list' though, ne Sempai?”

Kyouya-sempai inclined his head in silent agreement as he collected a bit of madras on a papa-dam and shovelled it into his mouth.

“I wonder if I will ever understand your friendship with Tamaki-sempai,” Haruhi mused, softly, but verbally. “No, I know that you're cultivating an Ootori-Suou alliance, as well as allying yourself with the Hitachiins, Hani-sempai, Mori-sempai, and good relations with the heiresses that are guests at the Host Club,” Haruhi said, holding up a hand to forestall that explanation. “It's the same reason I agreed to join the Host Club when Tamaki-sempai invited me. But I cultivate my alliance with Tamaki-sempai without actually being _friends_ with him, as such.”

Kyouya-sempai chuckled. “There isn't one millimetre of similarity between myself and Tamaki,” he said.

“Bzzt!” Haruhi chided. “You take me for a fool, Kyouya-sempai. That's not nice. Or else you are in denial, which I suppose I can't fault you for. You don't have to tell me why or how you and Tamaki-sempai get along as well as you do. It could just be a case of opposites attracting, I don't know. And it isn't my business to know really. It's just something I think about now and then, try and puzzle out.”

For the rest of the meal, they ate in silence. Haruhi idly people-watching, and Kyouya-sempai lost in thought as he churned Haruhi's words over and over again through his clever brain.

When they were finished (or simply full, in Haruhi's case) and the left-overs had indeed been packed up in plastic boxes, they headed for another part of the expo.

“I'm here,” Kyouya-sempai said with a shrug. “I might as well look around.”

And that was that.

Kyouya-sempai caught out a man trying to sell some fakes as the real thing (some expensive pottery made by a family that Kyouya-sempai's family was familiar with), made a good impression on the wife of another of his family's partners at the same time, and they discussed how Kyouya-sempai would get revenge on Tamaki-sempai. The merits of the day not _nearly_ matching up with the troubles caused by the blonde half-wit.

Until they passed in front of one shop, and Haruhi stopped.

“Ne, Kyouya-sempai, I'm sure the girls at the Host Club would love to see everybody wearing animal costumes one of these days,” Haruhi said lightly as he looked at the display in the window of the cheap costume shop he'd stopped in front of. “And Tamaki-sempai does the puppy-eyes so often anyway. It would be appropriate, ne? Of course, you're the Shadow King, you'd be in charge of the 'pet shop'...”

Kyouya-sempai smiled. “I like this plan,” he said. “However, it is Tamaki who ultimately decides what themes we employ in the Host Club,” he reminded.

Haruhi nodded. “Of course, Kyouya-sempai,” he agreed pleasantly. “Just remember that wearing fur costumes can be very hot. We'll need lots of water to drink, or else we'll suffer from heat-stroke in our costumes.”

The final humiliation for Kyouya-sempai that day came when, over the PA, a cheerful voice announced that there was a lost child answering to Ootori Kyouya, one-hundred-and-eighty centimetres tall, black hair, and glasses.

“I'm really going to kill him,” Kyouya-sempai swore, and stalked off with intent to strangle his best friend.

Haruhi trailed after. There was no _way_ he was going to miss _this_. Besides, Taka would be there too, according to what Kyouya-sempai had explained about how he'd actually gotten to the expo in the first place.

~oOo~

Kyouya's costume as owner of the Host Club pet shop was fairly simple. Just a pair of over-alls and sandals. No shirt, so his pale arms were shown off to the customers, and he got to carry a clipboard as part of the costume – since, after all, he had to monitor the 'animals'. Jun-chan and Misa-chan had gotten a little bit into the theme as well, wearing cat ears on headbands and having tails pinned to the backs of their skirts as they took pictures.

It wasn't an actual _theme_ though. There wasn't really that much that the Hosts would be able to do if they tried to genuinely pretend to be animals with their customers. It wouldn't go over so well, really. But for photos? That worked.

Since it was a photo-shoot-only cosplay, they got in a few _real_ animals as well.

Haruhi, dressed up as a bird, was given a swing to sit on surrounded by lots of other birds on their own little swings in their own little cages. The twins, dressed up as cats, slunk into the edges of a few of those photos, apparently stalking the caged birds. They also had pictures taken with various sorts of cats. Long-hairs, short-hairs, all pure-breeds though of course. Mitsukuni (in a rabbit costume that was the same colour as his hair) got to play with more rabbits than just his Usa-chan, while Taka was dressed up as a tanuki.

She brought her own tanuki with her to the photo-shoot when Kyouya had told her what the costume planned for her was.

Tamaki, of course, was a dog, and the excitable golden retriever he'd bought from the pet shop on the roof of the building where the 'commoner expo' had been, had been brought along. As had several puppies.

After the in-costume photos, and after Tamaki had finally been freed from his (the puppies he'd been playing with while in costume had damaged the zip, so it had taken a while to get him out), the Hosts all got to play with the animals in their own, normal clothes for a while. If Jun-chan and Misa-chan took a few more pictures, well, that was to be expected.

After that, October rolled around quickly, and with it the school's general Halloween build-up. This in turn meant that Tamaki would start the Halloween themes at the Host Club.

The first was vampires. They would have a new 'horror' themed setting each day for the week leading up to Halloween. This drew a few new customers to them as well. One of them, Taka noticed, was a girl from the Black Magic Club who was awkwardly trying to 'curse' Mitsukuni.

She called in that favour from Nekozawa-kun to find out more about the girl, Kanazuki Reiko. A girl from class 1-D, and held the belief that Mitsukuni had stolen her soul.

Nekozawa-kun explained that this was Kanazuki-chan's way of saying she was head-over-heels in very serious like.

Taka conveyed this to the slightly nervous Mitsukuni quietly, and was surprised to see her cousin perk up at the news. She'd expected relief that he wasn't actually being cursed, but to look happy about the whole thing? Well, she'd watch and see how it panned out.

The second day, they were werewolves. The third, demons. On the fourth day they tried to be ghosts, which didn't go over _nearly_ so well as the previous three themes. The fifth and final day of the themed lead-up to Halloween they were zombies, un-dead Frankenstein monsters – which was really just green make-up, fake stitches and bolts 'through' heads and necks and wrists and such, while they were still wearing their uniforms.

Jun-Chan and Misa-chan had a ball with the whole thing.

Haruhi and the twins were busy with their class activity for Halloween – an after-hours fear trial – but they still managed to attend Host Club. Haruhi had insisted.

“Kaoru,” Haruhi called once the guests had left. “Come sit with Taka-shi and me. I want to talk to you about something.”

“Nani?” the boy asked, even as he came over to share the table.

“You've been quiet this week,” Haruhi said. “Thoughtful sort of quiet,” he added. “And I noticed that Hikaru was becoming more open with our classmates while you withdrew.”

“I guess,” Kaoru admitted softly. “It's just been the two of us for so long, and now he's moving on.”

“But you're the one that actually becoming more mature,” Haruhi noted.

“He won't forget you,” Taka interjected softly. “Just because he talks to more people.”

Kaoru tensed, then slumped in his seat. “I've been found out,” he said with a weak, slightly mocking smile. “But what happens when this little family falls apart?” he asked. “The Host Club, I mean.”

“Do you really think it will?” Haruhi asked seriously.

“Mori-sempai and Hani-sempai will graduate at the end of the year,” Kaoru pointed out. “It won't be the same without them.”

“No,” Haruhi agreed. “It won't be the same. But change isn't necessarily _bad_ , Kaoru.”

“I know that,” Kaoru said. “I do. You've taught us all that, Haruhi. It's just... we're only just getting used to having more friends than just each other...”

“Mitsukuni and I will not stop being your friends because we graduate,” Taka said. “We will both be visiting the high school campus with some regularity.”

“Huh?” Kaoru asked, confused.

Haruhi chuckled. “Taka's still going to be dating me, and I'll still be here. Hani-sempai seems to be starting _something_ with Kanazuki-san from class 1-D, so he'll be around to visit her as well. And if they're on campus anyway, then they'll probably stop by the Host Club as well.” Haruhi looked up at Taka with a smile. “Ne?”

Taka nodded.

Kaoru smiled gratefully.

“But remember Kaoru,” Haruhi said. “Just because you and your brother have spent so much time together you're practically in each other's heads, _doesn't_ make Hikaru psychic. He doesn't know what you're thinking if you won't tell him.” Haruhi smirked. “You're the one who's better at that, of the two of you.”

Kaoru chuckled at the slight humour, but accepted the advice. “Arigato, Haruhi. Arigato, Mori-sempai.”

~oOo~

It was a Sunday, and Haruhi had his shopping list stuffed in his pocket with his wallet as his dad waved behind him, wishing him a safe shopping trip. He'd just reached the bottom of the stairs when two bodies grabbed his arms the way the twins had when they were trying to abduct him off and away to the Ootori health spa place. The day Taka had asked him to call her 'Takashi' and given him a lift home in her car.

The two people who'd grabbed Haruhi's arms this time even did the same “Target acquired” thing that the twins had done. Unlike the twins though, these two people were of different heights, and they were _female_.

When the limo pulled up in front of Haruhi and his captors, the window rolled down and (rather than revealing Tamaki-sempai in sunglasses and a lei as had happened last time) revealed that tall girl from Lobellia (wearing sunglasses, just like Tamaki-sempai had been). Ben-something-or-other.

“Good,” she said. “Take her away.”

Now, Haruhi _could_ have gotten the girls off him the same way he'd removed the twins from his person, but he figured that he might as well set them straight on the whole matter of his gender, or else they might be bugging him for the rest of his school career. Such a continuing interference in his life was something he would _not_ tolerate.

The room he was eventually pushed into was a large, deep, curtained off dressing room. Haruhi had been shoved in there by the two girls who had grabbed him, and a Lobellia uniform pressed into his arms. Clearly, he was expected to change into said outfit. He'd left the plastic-wrapped uniform on the floor near the curtain as soon as he was left alone.

Thankfully, he had his phone in his pocket, so he pulled it out and called his dad as he absently wandered through the racks upon racks of costumes that filled the room he'd been pushed into.

“Hey, yeah, no Tou-san, they're _not_ my friends. They're a bunch of crazy Zuka Club girls who don't realise I'm not a girl. Don't worry about me, I'll clear it up myself. No, really Tou-san, I've got this. I am going to call Taka-shi though, and probably Kyouya-sempai. Yes, I thought so too. I'll still do the shopping today, I promise. Ja ne, Tou-san,” Haruhi said fondly, then pressed the button to end the call before he conference-called Taka and Kyouya-sempai.

“I've been kidnapped by the Zuka Club,” he said once both were on the line. “I'm at the Lobellia campus. Aa, I don't think a restraining order will be needed after today Taka-shi, but I will certainly keep it in mind. I'm going to tell them once and for all to leave me alone, and that I'm not actually a girl, but in case they get out of hand, I think I could do with having some back up. Hai.”

Both of the older students agreed to be on campus within half an hour, and the phone conversation ended.

Haruhi slipped his phone back into his pocket, and continued looking through the racks of costumes. Most of them were dresses, and most of those dresses... Haruhi knew a few okama who would give their eye-teeth for such dresses. He also knew a few okama who would take one look at them, and instantly reach for some sharp sewing tool to assist in unpicking the stitching so that they could use the fabric to make something that would actually look _nice_. The okama who would give their eye-teeth for those dresses were the ones that the other okama tactfully shied away from where and when they could.

Style was not, after all, the same thing as fashion, and taste was more than just something that a person did with their tongue.

“Chizuru,” Haruhi heard the tall girl say, along with the sound of an opening door. “Where is she?”

“I'm having her change in the dressing room,” another voice answered.

Haruhi looked up from his criticism of the costumes when the curtain of the dressing room was tugged open.

“Is the size right?” the third girl asked. “Mou,” she said with a pout. “You didn't change.”

“There is a saying,” Haruhi said, and stepped out from among the many costumes that were by far more crass, tasteless and ridiculous than anything the Host Club had ever done. “'You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink'. Now what is the meaning of this?” he demanded lowly.

“Of course, fair maiden, it is simply that we needed you so urgently that we brought you over in your pyjamas,” the tall girl, Ben-something said, waving her arms around in grand, superfluous, meaningless gestures that even Tamaki-sempai wouldn't use in his gesticulations. “But won't you change into the uniform we have provided? I am certain that it will look perfect on you, as though it were designed just for you. Yes, they would be perfect on one as innocent as you,” Ben-whatever said as she draped her arms around Haruhi's shoulders, “a fair maiden who has yet to receive her first kiss,” she said, and gently tapped Haruhi's lips.

Haruhi resisted the urge to sigh. Still, that these crazy girls were as oblivious to his relationship status as they were to his gender wasn't much of an issue. “You still haven't explained yourselves. I should really call the police about being kidnapped,” he said lowly, arms crossed over his chest.

The tall girl took a step back. “No,” she said, and flicked her hair with one hand. “You are right to be angry,” she allowed, “but we do need you so urgently,” she repeated. “The favour I ask of you is simply this. I mentioned before, but as our basic activity, we periodically perform plays and songs that we study on a daily basis.”

“Today is actually 'Nadeshiko Day',” said the softly spoken girl. Chizuru, Haruhi thought he'd heard her called earlier. He hadn't really cared to remember their names after his last encounter with them. “On this day every year, to celebrate the birthday of the White Lily Society's founder, we hold a special performance,” she said, and drew a hand casually through her long hair. “We've been practising very hard for this day, but...”

“But, unexpectedly,” the shortest took up, “the girl who was going to play the heroine got injured in an accident, and we're in a pickle! However, we cannot cancel today's performance no matter what. And that's where -”

“We'd like to ask you, fair maiden, to take on the role of the heroine!” the three girls finished together, each striking a pose.

Haruhi took a deep, steadying breath. “Did you cause the accident so that you would have an excuse for this?” he asked sternly. “I will not be taking part in your play. No can do. I refuse. Besides, shouldn't there have been an understudy for the part in case an accident happened? How does that girl feel about you bringing in a _boy_ to take her place?” he continued, not giving them time to answer until that moment.

“Eh?”

“Eh?”

“Eh?”

The three girls all asked, slightly staggered, one after the other.

“Fair maiden -” Ben-whatever started.

“Boy,” Haruhi repeated firmly, cutting the girl off. Behind him, the door opened again, and a familiar voice softly called his name. Haruhi spun around, and a smile lit up his face. “Taka-shi,” he answered happily, and was pleased to be scooped up into his girlfriend's arms.

“Haruhi,” Kyouya-sempai greeted.

“Hello Kyouya-sempai, thanks for coming,” Haruhi said with a smile.

Kyouya-sempai nodded. “Will you be pressing charges?” he asked pleasantly. “These girls did kidnap you after all,” he added with a slightly amused smirk. He had seen what Haruhi had done when the twins tried to kidnap him, and knew that Haruhi had let himself be kidnapped so that he could sort out their stupid obsession.

“Maybe not charges,” Haruhi wavered, “but almost definitely a restraining order.”

“Fair maiden -”

“ _Boy_!” Haruhi snapped.

Taka caressed Haruhi's cheek and tilted his head up so that he was focused on her. Then Taka kissed him.

Haruhi sighed happily and snuggled into his girlfriend's hold. “Thank you Taka-shi,” he said. “I needed that. Your kisses always make me feel better.”

Taka smiled in answer to the compliment.

“No!” Ben-whatever cried. “Her first kiss! No! I shall therefore take her second, or her third, I don't care! I will steal it from her!” she declared, and raced at them.

Taka took one step to the side at the last second (Haruhi still held in her arms), and kept her foot out, thereby tripping Ben-whatever so that her face hit the floor.

“Boy,” Haruhi repeated flatly. “And I have been in a committed relationship with Taka-shi since before I met any of you. Add sexual harassment to the kidnapping, Kyouya-sempai. I have good grounds for a restraining order, I think. If they ever try again, _then_ I'll press charges.”

“Hai,” Kyouya-sempai agreed. “I'll have one of the Ootori private investigators find evidence, and one of our lawyers build a case for you.”

Haruhi smirked a little. “How much will that favour cost me?” he asked as Taka finally set him down – on top of Ben-whatever.

“Nothing,” Kyouya-sempai answered. “This is my fulfilment of a favour owed. You helped me put Tamaki in a dog costume, after all.”

Haruhi smirked at that. That had been fun for him as well, and really, his feathered costume wasn't so bad, as far as ventilation and such.

~oOo~

It was a Bakumatsu cosplay in the Host Club that day. Every Host was dressed as a member of the Shinsengumi, with only Tamaki not wearing the same blue coat as the rest of them (his haori was purple). They weren't cast in specific roles on the advice of Renge-san, which allowed the customers to speculate on which historical figure they were most like.

That was a little entertaining actually. Taka and Haruhi had agreed to make lists of every historical figure they were declared to 'be', with a small wager riding on who would get a longer list and how accurate those comparisons turned out to be after a little research.

Instead of the swords that every member of the Host Club was wearing at their hips, Taka had been given a spear. Reasons unknown, and it made no sense to her, since she was a kendo champion and was one of the few present who knew how to actually use a sword. Still, the customers seemed to be happy enough peeking around the side of the 'roadside teahouse' that they'd gotten in as part of the set, and watching as she drank her tea... and watched Haruhi across the room. This particular theme for cosplay had an interesting side effect for her boyfriend. Normally, Haruhi would sit with his designated guests and they'd talk. Today though, even Haruhi's guests were too caught up in fantasising to make much conversation.

Something to her right, just beyond one of the screens they'd set up, shifted. A quick scan of the room showed where all the Hosts were, and there were nearly never guests in an area where there were no Hosts. With the incident with the Zuka Club girls fresh in Taka's mind, she whipped the spear around and stabbed the blade through the wooden panel. She heard a soft _thump_ on the other side, though had felt no resistance apart from the wood she'd pierced.

The twins and Tamaki yelped in fright as they and the rest of the Host Club gathered around her.

“Why did he all of a sudden?” Kaoru asked.

“He's not happy because he's not garnering the same amount of attention?” Hikaru guessed.

“Mori-sempai, calm down!” Tamaki implored. “I understand that you only ever have one or two lines of dialogue, and even though it's already in the later part of the second half, you're getting irritated because you don't get many episodes featuring you, but -!”

“What _are_ you babbling about Tamaki-sempai?” Haruhi asked, one eyebrow raised, and walked past him to stand next to Taka. “Taka-shi?” he asked softly.

“A trespasser,” she answered lowly, and passed the spear over to her boyfriend before she slid open the screen.

There was a boy with red hair, wearing the Ouran uniform, on the ground.

Taka relaxed. It wasn't one of the crazy Zuka girls back to try and steal her Haruhi away. That... sounded more possessive than Haruhi was likely to be willing to put up with. They'd have to talk about it. One thing being in a relationship with Haruhi had taught Taka was that Communication Is Important.

“Ahh?!” the red-head said, and leapt to his feet. “Morinozuka Takashi!” he yelled as he began to charge her.

Taka didn't move, and was grateful that Haruhi hadn't moved to touch her either. If this boy intended to harm her, then she knew plenty of self-defence, but having someone else holding onto her would hamper her movements – and Haruhi knew it too.

“A raid?!” the twins cried in distress.

Then the boy was kow-tow-ing before her on the tatami.

“Sempai,” he said, “please accept me as your apprentice!”

“... Huh?” Tamaki and the twins all said together behind her.

Taka herself blinked in shock. That, of all things, was not what she had expected. She didn't even know who this boy was, and he wanted to be her apprentice? Why? She turned her shocked, helplessly confused gaze to Haruhi, silently asking for help in this situation she had no idea how to resolve.

“Right now, Taka-shi is busy with club activities,” he said, stepping up and quietly coming to her rescue. “If you would care to wait here, have some tea, maybe some snacks, we can address the issue of who you are, what you're doing here, and why you want to be Taka-shi's apprentice, but after Host Club is finished for the day.”

The red-haired boy looked up and nodded in acceptance.

Taka stepped back and slid the screen back into place. “Kyouya,” she said softly.

“Hai,” the glasses-wearing boy answered. “I'll have a full dossier on him by then,” he promised.

Taka nodded. “Arigato.”


	12. Chapter 12

Haruhi took the forward position, reading Kyouya-sempai's notes over his shoulder as the older teen recited them, while Taka sat at a small table with Hani-sempai, behind the couch where the rest of the Host Club sat and surveyed the red-head.

“Kasanonda Ritsu of Class 1-D,” Kyouya-sempai read off. “The successor to the third-generation master of the Kasanonda-gumi, the most powerful yakuza group in Kanto. Entered Ouran in high school, known for his red hair and scary-looking face, he doesn't talk much and has no friends.”

One of Haruhi's eyebrows had been creeping up his face throughout that little litany, trying to figure out why Kasanonda-san would feel the need to apprentice himself to Taka.

“If your eyes meet his, you'll suffer three months of nightmares. If your shoulder bumps his, you'll end up in hospital. If you try and talk back to him, you'll go straight to the graveyard,” Kyouya-sempai continued.

Haruhi gave him a flat expression that went unnoticed. That sounded like rumours, gossip, hear-say and nonsense to him.

“And from his classmates, he is feared as the 'human blizzard',” Kyouya-sempai said, ignoring the look Haruhi was giving him as he continued with the recitation of what his private investigators had come up with in so short a time.

“And?” Tamaki-sempai asked innocently. “Why does a human weapon like you want to be Mori-sempai's apprentice?”

“I'm not a human weapon,” Kasanonda-san objected. “I was just born with a scary-looking face.”

Haruhi noted that Kyouya-sempai had pulled out his pen and was taking notes of everything Kasanonda-san said, making amendments to the information he'd received as he went. After all, what better source of information on a person, than the person themselves?

“So you're aware of it, Casanova-kun,” the twins said.

“Kasanonda,” he corrected.

“Bossa Nova?” they asked.

“I said it's Kasanonda damn it! You wanna die or what?!” he yelled back.

“Hm?” Haruhi said, looking back at the boy from Kyouya-sempai's notes.

He'd just written 'short temper'.

“That really is a scary face,” the twins said.

“Damn it,” Kasanonda-san grumbled as he sagged where he sat. He brought a hand up to his face with a sigh. “Because of this scary look, since I was _born_ with this scary look, the old man always said of me: 'this kid has the features to be the most dreadful yakuza this century', and I was taught the way of being a yakuza lord since I was a kid.”

Haruhi blinked. That sounded like some useful skills to have.

“Because of this yakuza education, no one comes near me. Even my underlings are afraid of getting close to me,” Kasanonda-san explained. “It's lonely. I just want to have some fun! I want to kick cans with the underlings that admire me.”

“Can kicking is fun,” Tamaki-sempai agreed with a smile.

“I have no clue how to interact with others now though,” Kasanonda-san said.

“Poor guy,” Hani-sempai commiserated from where he'd finished his cake.

“Morinozuka-sempai, please teach me,” Kasanonda-san said, face still buried in his palm. “Why can you be like that?” he asked.

Haruhi looked between his year-mate and his girlfriend. Kasanonda-san was looking up through his fingers now, and Taka had turned her head so that she was looking over her shoulder at him, waiting calmly to hear exactly what the boy thought she could teach him.

“You have such a scary face,” Kasanonda-san said.

Haruhi saw Taka's pained reaction to that statement, and watched as she became paler as Kasanonda-san continued.

“... are emotionless, uncommunicative, and unsociable. Your face is pretty much akin to that of a guard dog from hell. Yet, how are you able to have so many people around you and admire you? Please, teach me your secrets!” Kasanonda-san begged, once gain prostrating himself on the floor before Taka.

Haruhi walked around the couch, eyes trained on his girlfriend as she raised a hand to her head.

“Takashi, are you alright?” Hani-sempai asked softly.

“I'm a little dizzy,” Taka deferred.

“No you're not,” Haruhi countered as he wrapped his arms around Taka's shoulders tenderly. “You are shocked, and your feelings are hurt, and everything that has been said about you so far is completely wrong. You are _beautiful_ , Taka-shi. Kasanonda-san has only seen you in the hallways, I'll bet, and doesn't know you at all,” he added, and kissed her cheek.

“Arigato, Haruhi,” Taka said, and raised a hand to return the embrace. It was an awkward position, but the love in the action from both sides negated that.

“I don't... understand...” Kasanonda-san said. “Morinozuka-sempai has a scary face, but... people still...”

Taka's hand and head both dropped.

Haruhi gave his girlfriend a squeeze. “I'll take care of it, shall I?” he offered.

“Please,” Taka answered.

Haruhi nodded, released his hold on her, and stepped up to stand in front of the yakuza heir. “You want friends to hang out with, and to have a better camaraderie with your underlings. Changing your appearance will have very little effect on that. Your face is your face, and that is all there is to it. If you went home looking different, would you even be able to face your underlings?” Haruhi asked pointedly.

Kasanonda-san sagged where he knelt on the floor. He didn't have to say anything. The answer was evident in his posture. “But what do I do?” he begged.

“Talk to them,” Haruhi stated.

“Ah,” Hikaru said. “The sage advice of Fujioka Haruhi-kun.”

“Hai,” Kaoru agreed. “How many people have you given that advice to, Haruhi?”

“I give the advice that people need,” Haruhi answered. “If Kasanonda-san wants to spend more friendly time with his underlings, then he has to let them know that. They are unlikely to deny him, ne?”

“Ne,” agreed both of the twins, drawing out the single syllable in their airy way.

“And for here at school, much the same advice applies. You need to _talk_ to people, rather than yell at them,” Haruhi continued with a shrug. “You have a reputation as a yakuza heir that needs to be upheld, so you can't be weak, but being strong and being aggressive aren't the same thing. Ne, Taka-shi?” Haruhi said with a smile, and went back to his girlfriend, happily settling across her lap as lightly as he could and tangling his fingers in her hair.

“Hai,” Taka agreed, and wrapped her arms around Haruhi.

“Oi oi, Kyouya-sempai,” Hikaru and Kaoru called. “Hani-sempai and Mori-sempai graduate soon right? Bossa Nova-kun could start training to be a Host next year, and learn more about socialising that way, ne?”

“The basic aesthetic that we look for in a Host is off,” Kyouya-sempai answered.

“But it's possible,” Tamaki-sempai countered thoughtfully. “He'll need training though.”

“Me? A Host?” Kasanonda-san asked, stunned.

“You _did_ ask to be Takashi's apprentice,” Hani-sempai pointed out cheerfully.

“We'll float you between Mori-sempai and Haruhi,” Kyouya-sempai decided. “Haruhi-kun is good at making people comfortable, and the girls will get used to you there better. By maintaining your presence around Mori-sempai, your position as his 'apprentice' will be solidified as well.”

“And by moving between the two, the image of a potential love triangle will be formed in the minds of the customers,” Kaoru observed.

“They'll drink it up,” Hikaru agreed.

“But this last few weeks before the end of term will be a trial period,” Kyouya-sempai finished. “If you do not like being a Host, or if you cannot draw any customers of your own by the end of term, we will reconsider making you an official member next year.”

“We should probably look at who will be coming into the high school next year,” Tamaki-sempai said. “We're welcoming Casanova-kun, but that is only one, where we will be losing Mori-sempai and Hani-sempai next year. The balance isn't even.”

“I leave that to you,” Kyouya-sempai said with a smirk. “You have surprisingly good instincts for who will make a good Host.”

Kasanonda-san _was_ quickly popular as a Host, once he'd won the sympathy of the girls. Renge noticed him blushing around Haruhi – the whole 'cute as a girl' thing – and drew attention to the beginnings of a possible romantic tension between the two. When Haruhi casually said that Kasanonda-san was a good friend, and he hoped that they would be friends for a long time (to which Kasanonda-san responded 'friends forever' rather tensely) he had every girl who attended the club wanting to get to know him better.

It probably helped that Kasanonda-san had been choking on saying “I like” at the time, making it look like a confession. Actually, he'd just been having a hard time admitting how grateful he was to Haruhi for his advice about talking to his underlings.

He became an official Host by the end of the week, when Tamaki set up a 'kotatsu social' theme in readiness for the encroaching winter months.

~oOo~

The end of the year was approaching, and with it came tests, the knowledge that the seniors would be graduating, and the Ouran School Festival. Clubs competed for different spaces in the school, and the Host Club (somehow) won the Central Building as their place to set up in. Once the building was secured, it was time to sit down and discuss what they would be _doing_ for their part of the Ouran School Festival.

And yes, they were actually going to discuss it, as a club, rather than simply leave it up to Tamaki-sempai's indiscretion to decide for them.

“I want to have an antique carriage airlifted in from France, horses and all,” Tamaki-sempai said with a wistful smile on his face. “It would be perfect for a parade, ne? To be able to give our guests a ride in a carriage?”

“Why couldn't we use Japanese horses?” Haruhi asked.

“The native breeds are declining,” Kasanonda-san countered with a shake of his head.

Haruhi shrugged. “And if we use native breeds, then we'd be promoting them to the people with money who are potentially in some sort of position to do something about reversing that decline,” he pointed out.

“We could promote it as the Host Club having wide interests in matters of cultural and national importance,” Kyouya-sempai agreed. “We do have to promote the Host Club as a good thing. We were a new club last year, and missed most of the promotional opportunities of the Ouran School Festival.”

“This will really be our first big splash with the parents of our customers,” Hikaru noted.

Kyouya-sempai nodded. “When asked what the Host Club does, it is important that it not be presented as something frivolous and trivial,” he said plainly, eye-balling Tamaki-sempai dangerously as he did.

Tamaki-sempai held up his hands defensively. “Hai, hai,” he agreed nervously. “I know! 'The theme of this club is to culture ourselves with social education',” he said, quoting the 'mission statement' of the Host Club as it was submitted to the school's superintendent (his father).

“And so 'we explore a wide variety of cultural activities and games -'” Hikaru continued.

“'-from many nations, along with historical folk attires',” Kaoru finished.

“So we should have the French carriage and horses, with French medieval costumes!” Tamaki-sempai crowed.

“I can't see a large carriage being very intimate,” Taka offered softly.

“Takashi has a good point,” Hani-sempai joined in. “Maybe if we had a few small, two-person gigs, and a native pony. It would be intimate, and better for having a parade, as we could pair off and drive behind each other until we get to our customers.”

Tamaki-sempai was quickly enamoured with the idea of intimate little buggies for two, and voiced his enthusiastic approval.

“Would that be better on the budget, Kyouya-sempai?” Haruhi asked.

Kyouya-sempai did a quick tap around on his computer, and finally looked up. “Hai,” he confirmed. “This is a better plan financially as well. It raises the question of what the costumes will be though, if not French. French costume would not be appropriate with the new cultural slant after all.”

Tamaki pouted a little while.

“There's also what well do when we're _not_ driving the gigs,” Kasanonda-san pointed out. “What then?”

“Then, we entertain guests as we always do, but it will include parents as well as our usual princesses,” Tamaki said happily.

“A non-theme, but in clothes not our school uniform,” Kyouya-sempai agreed with a nod. “Kaoru, Hikaru, shall we leave the design of the 'uniform' we will wear up to you?” he suggested.

“Sure,” they agreed with a synchronised shrug. “We are the ones who were raised by a fashion mogul after all.”

“Then it is settled,” Tamaki-sempai said happily. “And Haruhi, you must wear a dress at some point, please?” he begged.

“If you could do some baking as well, it would be appreciated,” Kyouya-sempai added seriously.

Haruhi nodded. “Hai, hai,” he agreed. “I'd like to not wear a dress all day, but something like I wore for the cultural festival the day we met the Zuka Club should be alright for riding in a gig?”

The twins nodded in assent.

“Also, feel free to invite Jun-chan and Misa-chan as guests, along with your father,” Kyouya-sempai offered. “We will have a small display of photographs set up, detailing some of the activities we have done as a club throughout the year. Jun-chan and Misa-chan should be allowed to mingle and garner business for their fine photography skills.”

“I take it their card will be attached to the photo display, which will have prints for sale as well?” Haruhi guessed with a slight smirk.

Kyouya-sempai smirked back. “Hai,” he agreed.

“Any that haven't been released yet?” Taka asked as she slipped a hand under the table to lace her fingers with Haruhi's.

Kyouya nodded. “A few prints exclusively available for the Ouran Festival,” he agreed. “Of course, Jun-chan and Misa-chan will have already provided you with such pictures for your album,” he added.

Haruhi and Taka both smiled. Kyouya-sempai could be completely cut-throat, but he was also a good friend.

~oOo~

They were pandering to adults as well as their peers, and they were in the Central Building, rather than simply the Third Music Room, and some of the 'acts' had to be re-worked to be acceptable for the parents who were meeting them, but everything was essentially the same.

Haruhi had the dubious privilege of being requested by the superintendent of the school for a five-minute interview, one that ended abruptly when the resounding clap of a palm striking a cheek rang out through the room.

A man had just struck Kyouya-sempai.

“You've been participating in such a ridiculous club all this time?” the man demanded coldly as Kyouya-sempai knelt to pick up his glasses. The strike to his face had sent them to the floor. “Are you trying to disgrace me?” he continued as Kyouya replaced his glasses and stood.

Kyouya-sempai remained silent and stoic as the man walked away from him.

“Greetings Suou-san, my apologies for causing such an indecent scene,” the man said as he stopped by the superintendent.

“Kyouya! Are you alright?” Tamaki-sempai asked urgently, rushing up to his friend.

Kyouya-sempai shook his head. “It is red right now, but it will calm down. It barely even stings,” he answered.

“Your father?” Haruhi asked softly.

“Hai,” Kyouya-sempai answered.

“Would you like me to ...?” he offered.

“Iie, arigato, Haruhi,” Kyouya-sempai declined. “This is not the time. Perhaps tomorrow,” he allowed. “This reaction from him was something I had anticipated anyway,” he added as he gave them both a nod and excused himself to mingle with the other guests.

That casual statement shocked Tamaki-sempai rather visibly. “It's because of the Host Club?” he asked softly.

Not long after that interview, while Haruhi was pushing around a refreshments cart and offering cakes to the guests the matriarch of the Suou family arrived.

“Grandmother!” Tamaki-sempai greeted happily, and ran up to her. “I'm so glad you came!”

“Don't touch me,” the woman answered. “Filthy child.”

“I... hate that woman,” Hani-sempai said softly, and clutched Usa-chan tighter to his chest.

Haruhi blinked in surprise. Hani-sempai rarely expressed such sentiments.

“Eclair-san,” the old woman called. “Come here please.”

Haruhi stepped to the side a little in surprise as the girl she had most recently offered cake to rose from her table and approached the old woman and Tamaki-sempai, who was still standing by his grandmother's side.

“This is the Lady Eclair Tonnerre,” the old woman said. “You will escort her for the rest of the two days of the Festival,” she instructed.

Tamaki-sempai hesitated.

“What's the matter? I'm telling you to do so,” Suou-sama stated in a soft monotone.

The girl got right up close to Tamaki-sempai, opera binoculars on a stand held up, truly superfluous at such a minor distance. A distance that could be said to be a true invasion of personal space.

“Pleased to meet you, Tamaki,” she said with a smile on her very red lips.

Tamaki-sempai produced a gracious smile. “Understood, Grandmother,” he acceded, with a nod of his blonde head. “I will do my best to please her.” Then he turned to Tonnerre-san. “This way, hime. Let us be on our way,” he offered, and guided her out of the Central Building.

“I think he won't be back for a while,” Haruhi said thoughtfully as he watched them leave.

“You're probably right,” the twins agreed with a saddened sigh. “Ah, Tono... deserting us.”

“Don't let it distract you,” Kyouya-sempai said firmly. “We still have guests to entertain as well.”

“Hai,” the other Hosts agreed.

“Haruhi, if you would be good enough to sit with Suou-sama? I think your approach to what we do will be the only one successful with Tamaki's grandmother,” Kyouya-sempai requested.

Haruhi nodded in assent. “Tonnerre though,” he said thoughtfully, “I've seen that name in the business papers recently. Isn't 'Grand Tonnerre' that foreign investment company that's been destabilising our economy lately? The one buying up our country's corporations one after another?” he asked.

“Hai,” Kyouya-sempai answered with a nod of his head.

“Hm. You'd better finish taking control of your father's company quickly then,” Haruhi advised with a smile. “Before Tonnerre-san gets it into her pretty little head to buy it from him.”

Kyouya-sempai blinked in surprise, then chuckled and nodded. “I'm very close to having controlling shares,” he said.

“Eh?!” the twins yelped.

“Kyou-chan, when have you been doing this?” Hani-sempai asked.

“And how did Haruhi know, but not us?” the twins demanded.

“Actually, I am curious as well,” Kyouya-sempai admitted.

“Hm, now that's a secret!” Haruhi said with a wink and a finger raised to his lips. It wasn't anything terribly grand. He'd looked over Kyouya-sempai's shoulder while he was on his computer at Host Club a few times, and noticed he was working on his stock portfolio. Every time after that, Haruhi had noticed that the number listed beside Ootori Company was a little bit larger than the previous time he'd looked over Kyouya-sempai's shoulder and noticed what he was doing.

It wasn't the only company Kyouya-sempai was buying into of course, but it was one that had caught Haruhi's notice, since it was actually his own family's company. Haruhi, taking Kyouya-sempai's purchases as good investment advice, had actually taken to doing the same, albeit on a much smaller scale, when he got home. Some day, Haruhi hoped to be able to afford the tuition of Ouran without having to have the scholarship. He'd probably reach that goal by the time he graduated though.

“Now, if you will excuse me, I have a guest to greet,” Haruhi said with a nod to them all, and excused himself.


	13. Chapter 13

“I have heard terrible things about you, Suou-sama,” Haruhi said pleasantly once he had poured the woman her tea.

“Oh?” the woman asked, an eyebrow arched.

“Mm,” Haruhi agreed with a nod. “I heard that you frowned upon the way your son disrespected his marriage vows to conceive a child with a woman who was not his wife, and protested against his divorcing said wife to marry the woman who had borne him a child,” he said, still utterly pleasant and polite.

“I did,” the woman agreed with a solemn nod. “I do not think this is a terrible thing that I have done though. My son, on the other hand...” she led off.

Haruhi nodded. “Oh certainly. An affair is an affair, whatever the circumstances, and should not be rewarded. The child of an affair, however,” Haruhi countered, “should not be punished for the sin of his father and the foolish naivete of his mother.”

The older woman huffed, but did not answer, preferring to claim her tea cup and take a sip from it.

Haruhi let the silence go, and moved on. “Another terrible thing I heard,” he continued, a wry twist to his lips that said he did not mean 'terrible' at all, but was merely indicating the public opinion insofar as it had been communicated to him. “Is that when a family was falling into debt, a family that you had connection to through the foolish indiscretion of your son, you were so gracious as to rescue them from that debt in exchange for having your grandson, illegitimate though he was, closer to you. You went so far as to have that grandson placed in an excellent school where he could learn how to run the family business, if he was ever in a position to inherit it.”

Suou-sama inclined her head. “You have seen through me,” she noted softly. “I am surprised that one so young should, when others who are older and more experienced than yourself have not.”

“When I ask Kyouya-sempai for details on customers or my fellow Host Club members, I request that no emotion colour his reports. I have cold, unpleasant, uncompromising facts. No tone or feeling to them. This allows me to see things more clearly,” Haruhi explained. “If I were to ask the other Hosts about you, they would tell me all this, but their tone, their posture, it would paint you as a villain to Tamaki-sempai's tortured hero. Because they care about him so much, and... you told him that you would only pay the debts of his mother's family if he left them, and never saw his mother again. You also called him 'filthy child' when you entered earlier.”

The old woman sighed. “His friends... they hold these things against me?” she said. “I do not blame them. Tamaki is a good child, charismatic, and very able to draw people to him. But as you say, Fujioka-san, I have done 'terrible' things,” she continued, “and for Tamaki's sake, I must continue to do so. Tamaki... Tamaki will be stronger than his father was, and with the lessons I pass on to him through my cruelty, he learns to be a better man, as well as a stronger one.”

Haruhi nodded in understanding. “The other Hosts will not believe such a thing,” he told her. “I believe that they are all resolved to hate you on Tamaki-sempai's behalf, since he does not seem capable of holding onto the emotion for himself.”

Suou-sama smiled fondly and the description of her grandson, but smothered it quickly. It wouldn't do for her to be seen as a pleasant person. Gracefully, she lifted her tea cup to her lips once more, and used the action of sipping to hide her expression.

“Does Tamaki-sempai know your reasons for his treatment?” Haruhi asked.

“He does,” Suou-sama answered with a nod. “I want him to be successful in his career.”

“We all hope to be successful,” Haruhi agreed. “But, we who are members of the Host Club hope for one thing more as well. We hope for happiness. For ourselves, for each other, for our guests. After all, Suou-sama, what is the point to being the richest man in the world, if you are miserable?” he asked, just a little rhetorically.

Suou-sama narrowed her eyes at Haruhi, but it was a searching look rather than an angry or upset expression. “You are very wise, for such a young person,” she decided at last.

“Arigato,” Haruhi answered, and bowed slightly in his chair.

“Eclair-san asked me to introduce her to Tamaki,” Suou-san divulged. “I had not mentioned him to her, had not met her at all until she called to ask if she could be introduced to my grandson. She heard of him from his mother.”

Haruhi blinked, absorbed that information, and then smiled. “Ah,” he said. “I think the French might fall in love a little too easily. Eclair-san is not the first young woman to come to Ouran, already in love with a boy she has never met.”

“The test will be how she treats him, and how he reacts to that treatment in turn,” Suou-sama agreed with a regal incline of her head.

~oOo~

Haruhi had gone up to the third music room to change into his dress for the evening, and was just collecting a few more cakes for his elegant little trolley of treats when he heard them.

“In a place like this?” a feminine voice asked.

“It is a music room after all,” answered Tamaki-sempai's voice with gentle humour.

Haruhi finished setting the cakes on the trolley as the first strains of piano music filtered through the closed door. As much of an idiot as Tamaki-sempai could be, he really did know how to play those exquisite classical pieces.

“This is the room you use for your Host Club activities, isn't it?” Haruhi heard the girl ask through the door. “I saw how all of you interacted in the salon...” That was what they'd re-named the Central Building for the Festival. “You all seem very close to each other.”

“But of course,” Tamaki agreed, his hands not faltering as he continued to play. Or if they did, Haruhi didn't hear any changes. “Our Host Club is like a gathering of family members.”

Haruhi smiled at that, and shook his head. A family. That was them. Even when Hani-sempai and Taka left them, they would still be family. When they got new members, they would be brought in and find a place in the family.

“In Japan, they call this family pretending game 'mamagoto', ne?” the girl asked slyly.

Haruhi shook his head. Pretending? That was cold. He had no way of knowing if Tamaki-sempai nodded or shook his head or reacted at all, but there was no verbal answer for him to overhear.

“Isn't everyone suffering... because of your selfishness?” she asked. “That Host with the glasses, he got hit by his father, right?”

The music stopped abruptly.

Haruhi stopped loading his cart, checked that his dress was sitting properly and his bra was straight, and moved to the door. Tamaki-sempai was very sensitive about Kyouya-sempai, and would need some reassurance on that point, or else he'd probably do something stupid.

“Haruhi,” Tamaki-sempai greeted, his tone somewhat subdued as he stood from his seat at the piano. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to get changed,” Haruhi answered with a sweeping gesture to his dress, “and to get more snacks. For the person who was so enthusiastic about the Festival to have just disappeared though, everyone is a bit angry about that,” he added pointedly. “And you'd better not skip out on that 'parade' you were so keen on, or Kyouya-sempai will think of something horrible to do to you.”

“Ah!” Tamaki-sempai answered a little nervously.

“Oh, I am sorry,” Eclair-san said, looking through her opera binoculars at Haruhi over the back of the couch where she was settled. There was a smile on her face though, so Haruhi didn't believe for an instant that she was sorry at all. “But Tamaki belongs to me right now,” she finished, still smiling. “However, you know...” she said as she lowered the binoculars from in front of her face, “you seem a little jealous.”

Haruhi raised an eyebrow. “You've got the wrong Host for that,” he informed her. “I'm just conveying sentiments. Also, Tamaki-sempai is a _Host_ , not a _whore_. He doesn't 'belong' to you, he is simply obliging his grandmother by escorting you for two days.”

“Haruhi!” Tamaki-sempai yelped. “Such language!”

Haruhi nodded at the girl, but didn't apologise, and turned his full attention to the blonde. “Also, before you start dwelling on Ootori-sama's treatment of Kyouya-sempai, remember that he said he knew, from the beginning, that this was how his father would act. Regardless of that, he did what he has done. That is his choice, Tamaki-sempai,” Haruhi reminded him firmly as he pushed the trolley through the room and out of the other door.

“Hai... arigato, Haruhi,” he heard Tamaki-sempai say behind him as he shut the door of the Third Music Room behind him.

Half an hour later, Tamaki-sempai came down from the music room, changed for the evening and ready to take his place at the head of the Host Club's parade of gigs – the very first gig, right beside Kyouya-sempai. Haruhi nodded to himself in approval, and then let Kasanonda-san help him up into the gig they would be sharing. Normally he wouldn't need the help, but he _was_ wearing a dress.

After the circuit in the gigs, the Hosts invited guests to climb aboard with one of their number... and Tamaki-sempai returned to Eclair-san's side after giving a nod to Kyouya-sempai.

They must have talked while they were riding, and sorted everything out, Haruhi decided. That was good. Better, Hani-sempai was giving a gig ride to a customer, and Kasanonda-san also had a guest in his. That left Haruhi and Taka on their own without any of the other Hosts – the gig that the twins drove was large enough for three at a pinch, and they had a guest seated between them as they drove off, and of course Kyouya-sempai always had someone to chat with in that cultured manner of his, even when driving a gig.

Taka draped an arm around Haruhi's back, and guided him back inside.

Haruhi had time for little more than pleasantries as Taka guided the two of them through the crowd until they reached the place where her parents and Haruhi's dad were all standing together by the photo display.

~oOo~

Haruhi was back in his trousers and waistcoat the next day, and seated at a table with Eclair-san at her request. Tamaki-sempai was discussing something with Kyouya-sempai at the other end of the room, and she would 'collect' him again when she left the Central Building. While she was there though, he was allowed to be as well.

“It seems you were Tamaki's favourite,” Eclair-san said lightly, her opening gambit in their conversation.

“So, basically, you're jealous?” Haruhi answered just as lightly, repeating back the words Eclair-san had said to him the previous day.

“Ara, well said,” Eclair-san parried as she lent forward. One elbow was rested on the table between them, and then her chin rested on the back of her hand. “I offered to give him a real family, did you know? I told him I knew where his mother was, and that I would be happy to give him children of his own, if he would just come back with me to France as soon as this festival was over... and if he would dissolve the Host Club.”

“Ah? But the Host Club is too successful to dissolve, even if we were to suddenly be without our King,” Haruhi answered with a slight smile.

“Are you his girlfriend?” Eclair-san demanded.

“Iie,” Haruhi answered dryly. Really, see him in a dress once, and apparently he's a girl. “I am not a girl. I am an okama, that is why I was wearing the dress you saw me in last night. I will wear it again tonight, but I am a boy.”

“Then, his boyfriend?” Eclair-san checked.

“Iie,” Haruhi repeated. “I have no romantic interest in Tamaki-sempai.”

“So. Wonderful,” Eclair-san said happily. “Then you are nobody to him.”

“Iie. I am not 'nobody',” Haruhi corrected. “Eclair-san, how did Tamaki-sempai answer you last night, when you made this 'offer'?” he asked carefully.

Eclair-san's eyes twitched to be a little narrower, just for a moment. “Tamaki... is discussing that with Ootori-san right now,” she informed Haruhi with an air of peeved superiority, assured that she would have a positive response before the day was out.

Haruhi's slight smile grew, and became more at ease. “Then I shall give you my condolences,” he said kindly. “Because, Eclair-san, you are wrong. I am not and never have been Tamaki-sempai's favourite, though I am his friend. Tamaki-sempai's favourite is Kyouya-sempai, and if Kyouya-sempai wants Tamaki-sempai to stay, then he will stay. By coming here, you have given Kyouya-sempai a chance to tell Tamaki-sempai that for himself.”

Eclair-san's eyes went wide and her head whipped around to stare at where Tamaki-sempai stood, smiling happily, with Kyouya-sempai.

“If you leave for France tonight, Eclair-san, then you will leaved without Tamaki-sempai,” Haruhi informed the girl softly.

“Iie...” the girl denied. “He wants a family. I will give him that. I will give him his mother, and children of his own...”

“But you would part him too violently from the friends that he holds dear,” Haruhi countered. “If he believed that leaving would be what is best for those he cares for the most, then he would leave with you, who he hardly knows. He would not be happy to leave, but he would leave all the same, and try to be happy wherever he found himself,” he explained.

“Iie,” Eclair-san denied again. “He _will_ choose me! For his mother if nothing else!”

“Hmm? Well, we shall see. If he decides not to leave with you though, Eclair-san, what will you do?” Haruhi asked gently.

Eclair stood from her chair abruptly, and left the table to fetch Tamaki-sempai away from Kyouya-sempai. Haruhi watched it happen, and was himself about to rise and go in search of Taka when Kyouya-sempai walked over to him.

“Thank you for all your work until now, Haruhi,” Kyouya-sempai said. “Eclair-san was your one-thousandth designation. Quite the milestone for only one year as a Host,” he added.

Haruhi gave a crooked smile in return. “You and Tamaki-sempai sorted everything out while I was keeping her busy?” he asked.

Kyouya-sempai nodded. “Hai,” he said. “Arigato.”

Haruhi nodded in return, and stood. As he did, two other figures approached them. One of those two was Kyouya-sempai's father.

“Although you may hold the misconception that you have all the time in the world when you are young,” the man said as he stopped behind his son, not turning to face Kyouya-sempai, or requesting that Kyouya-sempai look at him while he was speaking. “Reality isn't always like that. Stop wasting your time on worthless activities,” he advised, and moved to continue walking.

“At this Host Club,” Haruhi said firmly, “Kyouya-sempai works very hard to make sure that everybody can be happy. By making everyone happy, we also feel accomplished and pleased within ourselves. Is making everybody happy that worthless of an activity?” he demanded softly.

Behind him, Haruhi was aware of Taka and Hani-sempai coming to stand with him, and the twins as well. He didn't need to look to see that Kyouya-sempai was a little surprised at their support of him – he knew well his own reputation as the 'shadow' king, and the manipulative member of their little group.

“I... we _all_ think that Kyouya-sempai is very admirable,” Haruhi finished firmly.

Ootori-sama, Kyouya-sempai's father, had been still during Haruhi's little speech. He hadn't turned to face him, but he had stood there and listened. He did not turn now either. He simply continued on his course.

Haruhi turned to face Kyouya-sempai once Ootori-sama was out of sight. “Not least because he already owns his family's business, without his father even knowing,” he added with a knowing smirk. “Ne?”

Kyouya-sempai chuckled. “Hai,” he agreed happily. “Arigato, minna. Now come along, we have guests to entertain. Tamaki will be back with us for the final parade this evening, and the dance, but he must still escort Tonnerre Eclair-san until then.”

“At least he showed up,” Hikaru grumbled.

“He even did a once-around the room with Kyouya-sempai while Haruhi kept her busy,” Kaoru agreed.

Taka pressed a kiss to Haruhi's hair, and the pair exchanged smiles before the group broke apart to continue meeting and entertaining their guests.

~oOo~

Eclair-san left for France at the end of the day, and Tamaki remained. If he stood a little closer to Kyouya than he had in the past, then for once the rest of the Hosts followed Taka's lead, and kept their mouths shut. Winter was almost upon them, and with it came exams, graduation, and the anticipation of Christmas and the new year.

Christmas was a Western holiday, but it had been readily adopted. For the Host Club, it was another theme to exploit for cosplay. The freshmen and the seniors were elves, while the juniors were in resplendent red outfits that had been trimmed with white fur. There was a large, decorated tree in one corner of the room, making the whole place smell wonderfully of pine, and Tamaki had plans (confirmed by Kyouya-sempai, who was actually the one selling the idea to their guests) of having a large sleigh pulled by reindeer. Obviously it wouldn't fly, but the idea was there. There was also going to be a 'one-horse open sleigh' for more romantic little joy-rides, as opposed to the larger sleigh which would be for groups to ride in together.

And all this while they were taking exams as well.

Haruhi's table at the Host Club, even with him in costume, had become a true workstation. He tutored the girls who designated him with whatever they struggled with, and they likewise helped him with anything he was confused over that they could explain to him.

Taka challenged Mitsukuni. They would be going to different colleges, and besides her not being there to keep an eye on him, her status as a girl was going to be ousted after graduation. She made a list of things she wanted him to do, and to stop doing, and after their last exam, they fought.

Mitsukuni held back. Ever since the day he had defeated his father, he _always_ held back. Taka, however, did not. She went all out. She used every hold, every trick, everything she knew and all of her strength. Considering her years of training, that strength was considerable.

The fight lasted two hours, but eventually Taka won.

Mitsukuni accepted her list as gracefully as he could, and ceded to her 'requests' for his behavioural conduct for while he was at college.

Then the graduation ceremony was upon them. Being a member of the Host Club meant that Taka was particularly used to wearing kimono, hakama, and robes of all sorts above and beyond her simple kendo uniform. The ceremony was fairly dull. Sitting around listening to speeches, then walking across the stage to collect a roll of paper. The reception afterwards was better. Jun-chan and Misa-chan were the photographers for the event, and Taka actually dragged Haruhi over to them, a foolish grin on her face, to get a graduation picture.

“In just two more years, you will drag me to the photographers while you wear a gown like this one, and we will have another picture just like this one,” Taka whispered happily into Haruhi's hair – a task much easier now than it had been at the beginning of the year, since Haruhi had grown a bit in the intervening time. He still only came up to her collarbone, but it was better than the nearly two-foot height difference it had been.

Hauhi smiled back at her, and nodded happily.

~oOo~

Haruhi was wearing his best suit as he stood at the bottom of the stairs, waiting. At the top of the stairs, Taka's parents stood together as Morinozuka-sama explained that his daughter had spent her life masquerading as a boy to prove her strength, and now that she was of age, he welcomed her to take up her role as his daughter as she should have from the beginning. The two stepped to the side, and Taka appeared from behind them.

Her hair was still short, it had not been so long that it had really had a chance to grow. Despite this though, she was clearly a woman. There was no binding over her chest, and though it was small it was there, lending curve to her black velvet dress. Her shoulders were still and always would be broad, but that was hardly an issue. The figure-hugging dress also revealed that Taka had hips slightly more pronounced than a boy's would have been. The long white gloves lent an air of elegance as well, as did the diamond necklace she wore, and that very nearly dripped into her minor cleavage.

Haruhi's breath caught, hitching and looping and knotting up tightly around his collarbone and tying itself up in a Winston knot just like his tie. Yes, he'd said that appearances didn't mean much to him, that it was what a person was like inside that mattered to him... but he couldn't deny that Taka was beautiful. He wouldn't. Even if he was offered enough money to buy his own law school and legal practice, he would still have declared Taka to be the most stunningly radiant beauty he had ever seen in his life.

And he'd seen a lot of girls over the past year, acting as a Host.

Slowly, Taka descended. One hand on the railing of the stairs so that she didn't fall in her heels. In deference to her not being used to such footwear, and her natural height, they weren't _high_ heels, but there was still more heel than she was used to.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, Haruhi was there, and quickly took her hand as it left the railing. He bowed and kissed the gloved hand that he held in his own.

“May I have this dance?” he asked when he looked up.

Taka smiled shyly at him, and nodded.

Haruhi smiled back, and carefully arranged her arms around him so that _he_ was the one leading. At the Ouran Festival, with Haruhi in his dress, he'd been passed around every other Host and been led by them through the steps. Even Taka had led him when they danced together. Now, he was the one leading.

Taka's smile grew slowly as they continued to dance and she relaxed more into the situation of being the person being led, rather than having to do the leading. When they had enough of dancing, Haruhi led Taka to the buffet table and sat her down. He collected a plate of treats, returned to her, and asked her to close her eyes.

Taka smiled happily, and obediently closed her eyes.

As he had at the first ball they had both attended, Haruhi fed Taka one treat after another, giving her a bite and then taking a bite himself. Unlike that first time though, Haruhi would occasionally surprise Taka by giving her a kiss, rather than a new morsel to taste. She accepted these just as readily though, and there was always a content expression on her face when Haruhi pulled back to offer her the next treat from his plate.

Satisfied, and feet rested, they returned to the dance floor, and continued to dance until the party was called to a close. The couple knew though that they would be fielding calls from the other Hosts for the next few days. They had all been present at the party after all, even if none of them had approached the couple. In fact, no one had approached the couple.

Ranka-san had been very busy (but happily so) in running interference for them that evening, even if he had questions of his own.

~oOo~

They had two weddings, when both of them had graduated from law school. The first, a grand, public affair where everything was 'perfect' and 'proper', with Taka resplendent in her wedding kimono (which changed several times) and Haruhi in his. The second was an intensely private affair, done more for laughs, as Haruhi was dressed in a white, western wedding dress, and walked down the isle by his father to where Taka waited in a tuxedo, with Mitsukuni as her best man. They had both giggled the whole way through it, even though they were adults and had never really been inclined to giggle back when they were teenagers.

Kyouya had toasted them in the dining hall where they'd held their second reception. “Our Okama Couple,” he called them happily, a sentiment that was cheerfully (and a little drunkenly) echoed by the twins, Kasanonda-san, Tamaki, Mitsukuni, Ranka-san, and Jun-chan and Misa-chan. The full guest-list for their second ceremony. Taka's parents and Satoshi had been quite satisfied with the _proper_ wedding.

“When we get married, which of us is going to wear the dress?” Tamaki asked Kyouya. He was a loud drunk, but he was also an adorable drunk, so everybody forgave him and simply laughed.

“You,” Kyouya answered simply and firmly.

They all simply laughed harder.


End file.
